2018 Airshow at Spirit Airport

It was a chilly, gloomy Sunday morning (14 October) when I drove to Spirit of St. Louis Airport (https://www.spiritairport.com/) for this year's Spirit of St. Louis Airshow and STEM Expo (http://spirit-airshow.com/). I went there primarily to help staff the Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/) information booth, which was beside the static aircraft ramp. Jim Means and I staffed the booth, but we had few visitors. This was likely due to the reduced attendance that day compared to the day before. We thought the weather was to blame for that. Still, it was good to represent our group at this show.

I was able to get out and look at the aircraft on the ramp. These included several Boeing (http://www.boeing.com/) F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters; this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Hornet's first flight. Several Boeing F-15 Eagles, a CV-22 Osprey, a P-8 Poseidon, and other current aircraft were on display. Older aircraft present included the B-25 Mitchell, TBM Avenger, and L-3 from the Missouri Wing of the Commemorative Air Force (http://cafmo.org/). Also there was the B-29 Superfortress "Doc" (https://www.b29doc.com/), one of only two flyable B-29s in the world.

I caught the air displays, which included several of those aircraft mentioned, although the clouds made the aircraft fly lower than normal. A B-52 Stratofortress made a pass in front of the crowd. I caught the flight by the Royal Canadian Air Force's CF-18 Demo Team (http://rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/cf-18-demo-team/index.page). This aircraft's scheme celebrates the 60th anniversary of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) (http://www.norad.mil/). It was a most spirited display by the CF-18's pilot, helped by the enthusiastic narration.

I left Spirit Airport soon after that demo to head for home. The air show returns to Spirit Airport on 7-8 September 2019, with the US Navy's Blue Angels (https://www.blueangels.navy.mil/) as the featured attraction.

Later.