2019 Spirit of St. Louis Air Show

Saturday morning (7 September), I drove to Spirit of St. Louis Airport (https://www.spiritairport.com/) in Chesterfield, Missouri for the Spirit of St. Louis Air Show & STEM Expo (http://spirit-airshow.com/). I had bought my ticket online just over two months before. After finding a parking spot and walking through the entrance (with a security search of my camera and utility bags), I made my way to the Sky Soldiers area where the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation (https://armyav.org/) had Vietnam War-era helicopters available for rides. I signed up to ride a Bell UH-1H Iroquois "Huey," the classic transport helicopter of the Vietnam War. After signing a waiver and paying my fee, I was grouped with nine other passengers. We were brought out to the helicopter, lead to our seats, and fastened for our ride.

It was about an eight minute flight, reaching just over 1000 feet (304.8 m) altitude and a speed of approximately 100 mph (161 kmh). The Huey took us across the Missouri River to nearby St. Peters, before flying back to Spirit Airport. This was my first ever flight in a helicopter and it was a great thrill.

We arrived safely after our ride, most happy from the experience.

After that, I browsed among the aircraft on static display, which ranged from current military and civil aircraft to vintage warbirds.

I also stopped by some booths, including one by the Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/).

I also took in the flying displays by various aircraft. These included the first-ever St. Louis area display by the Royal Air Force Red Arrows (https://www.raf.mod.uk/display-teams/red-arrows/), and the US Navy Blue Angels (https://www.blueangels.navy.mil/). Both put on very impressive shows.

After the Blue Angels' performance, I started to walk to my car. After a long time stuck in traffic, I finally departed from the airport and headed to World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton for that night's Saint Louis FC match. (I wrote about that match in my previous post.) A great day, overall.

Later.

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.