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Show Index | Camarillo | Chino | Edwards '02 '03 '05 | El Centro '04 '05 | Gillespie '03 '04 '05 '06 | Kitty Hawk | Los Angeles '03 '05 | March | Minter | Miramar '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 | Nellis | Oshkosh | Pt Mugu | Ramona '02 '04 | Riverside | Shuttle Launch STS-114 STS-116 | SpaceShipOne | Vandenberg | Whiteman | Yuma '04 '06

The 2003 Edwards Air Force Base Air Show

October 25, 2003


John Collver's AT-6 Texan War Dog flies in front of a massive raging wildfire.

The A-10 Thunderbolt was pretty much built to fit around that gun. Buy Print

The A-10 flying in formation with a P-51 Mustang. Buy Print

A C-17A Globemaster III cargo plane.

A U.S. Army Golden Knight checks the wind direction before jumping.

B-1B Lancer Bomber screams overhead.

The B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber Spirit of New York above the rocket test stands. Buy Print

The B-2 has sleek rounded shapes to deflect radar. Buy Print

Bombs away! Buy Print

The small N9M flying wing is the predecessor to the B-2. Buy Print

A C-130J demonstrates a cargo drop. The bottom of each pallet is made of foot-thick crushable cardboard. Buy Print

The C-130J idles two engines after landing. Buy Print

An F-86 Sabre. Buy Print

An F-16 Falcon demonstrates in-flight (mid-air) refueling with a KC-135 Stratotanker.

An F-16 with the larger F-15 Eagle.

The F-117A Nighthawk Stealth Fighter takes a look at the crowd. Buy Print

I think a lot of UFO sightings can be explained by the stealth. Doesn't this look like a flying saucer?!

The brand new F/A-22 Raptor, this is the FIRST TIME one has flown a scheduled performance at a public air show! Buy Print

The F/A-22 is monitored by an F-16 chase plane.

I have a feeling that the F/A-22 will become a staple of future air shows nationwide.

The finale of the show is the Thunderbirds, but the second to last display is a formation flyby of all manner of EAFB aircraft.
From left to right is a B2, C130, B1B, KC135, F117A, F15, F16, C17A, L39, T38, another F15, and another F16.
Note: They are flying a very loose right echelon formation, so planes to the left look much smaller than they really are. Buy Print

The F117A, F15, and F16. Buy Print

An L39, a T-38, an F16, and an F15. Buy Print

An F16 on the ground in AFFTC colors. Buy Print

The B-1B makes a pass over the flightline before landing. Buy Print

The finale is the Thunderbirds, a high performance jet team flying the F16. Only five of the seven planes flew. Buy Print

I wonder why the '5' is painted upside down?

There was some sort of problem - they sat on the runway for an excruciatingly boring half hour before starting the show.

Finally, the show begins! Buy Print

Oh, THAT's why the '5' is painted the way it is!

Buy Print

Static Displays

We could see the Star-Wars-esque YAL-1A Airborne Laser in its' hangar across the way.

NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, used to ferry the Shuttle across the country.

One of the three posts the shuttle sits on. The prank instructions say: ATTACH ORBITER HERE. NOTE: BLACK SIDE DOWN.
If you didn't get that joke you need to pay more attention to the space program!

A mockup of the shuttle used for training rescue crews, an 80% scale model of the X-37, and the world's first laser-powered airplane.

A UAV fitted with missiles, made famous in Afghanistan and Iraq.

U-2 spyplane. Buy Print

CH-53E Super Stallion Marine helicopter.

C-46 China Doll WW2 cargo plane has... um... nose art. Buy Print

WW2 B25 Executive Sweet.

The FAA's DC3 N34, soon heading to the Smithsonian.

The parking lot was on the dry lakebed, complete with runway striping.

I guess I was one of the last people to leave!

I used Canon D60 and 10D digital SLRs, with 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L IS and 17-40mm F/4L lenses to shoot the show, and Phase One's Capture One DSLR LE software to process the images.

Show Index | Camarillo | Chino | Edwards '02 '03 '05 | El Centro '04 '05 | Gillespie '03 '04 '05 '06 | Kitty Hawk | Los Angeles '03 '05 | March | Minter | Miramar '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 | Nellis | Oshkosh | Pt Mugu | Ramona '02 '04 | Riverside | Shuttle Launch STS-114 STS-116 | SpaceShipOne | Vandenberg | Whiteman | Yuma '04 '06
Fred's Air Show Journal Index/FAQ
Aircraft Index
Gillespie
Airplane
Whiteman
Airplane
Miramar
Airplane
STS-116 launch
Spaceship
Next Show:
TBD
All text and images are © 2002-2006 Manfred Bruenjes - All Rights Reserved. Image inlining (hotlinking) and/or framing are strictly prohibited. No reproduction, dissemination, repackaging, hosting, or other use of these images is allowed without written permission.