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Show Page 1 D Lakeside Review Wednesday, September 11, 1985 g t Crowd Visits Hill cord .-Re- HILL AIR FORCE BASE Thousands of spectators, a record breaking 200,000 people visited Hill Air Force Base Saturday. The occasion was the open house thrown by the Air Force base. The purpose - to show the public the programs and progress of the states largest employer. Hill Air Force Base employs more than 20,000 military and civilian workers. The annual payroll is more than $534 million. Utahs economy benefits from $1 billion generated by the base operations. It is home of the 388th Tactical Fighter Squadron and the 419th Tactical Fighter Wing which fly 6 Fighting Falcons. At open houses the big attraction is always the Air Force Thunderbird precision fighter jets. flying team of 6 The red, white and blue aircraft perform at air shows from November to March, breaking during winter months for training. Stationed at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, Thunderbird pilots must do each maneuver times before perform0 F-1- F-1- 300-40- ing. Capt Jake Thom is pilot of the eighth plane in the eight plane team. His is the only two-seate- r. Thorn flies - ride-alon- gs se- lected media personnel and other dignitaries for promotional purposes, he said Friday at a special preview. The pilot from Pascagoula, Miss, is advance-ma- n and narrator. He flies ahead to make arrangements with the press and he narrates OH, THEY STAY up there a long time, dont they? The spectator tilted his head way back as he watched the first set of twelve Air Force Academy skydivers float under white and blue canopies, swirls of pink smoking circling around them. . The Wings of Blue skydivers were able to control their speed of descent. They landed right on target at the Hill Air Force Base air strip. They gathered in their parachutes, lined up and stood at attention before the amazed audience. As part of the 94th the spectacular air performance of six other F-1- A seventh plane is a back-u- p in case a regular plane is not operating properly. Saturday the Thunderbirds were scheduled for an afternoon performance. Meanwhile, spectators spent the day strolling across the crowded air strip to get a close look at modem, sophisticated aircraft on display. Some young couples pushed babies in strollers stopping for a hot dog, or to lift toddlers on their shoulders for a look at a band or a drill team performance. Helicopters gave demos on how to lift a missiles. Military working dogs showed off their obedience. Helicopters and airplanes took off and landed. And shuttles ran to a distant field where World War II and Korean War aircraft were on display. At 2:20 p.m. pilots climbed and started aboard their the engines. Kids scrambled to the tops of ladders, cars, whatever would give them a better view of the world famous aircraft. Papers along the runway behind the jets flew up and were tossed by jet bursts. The six Thunderbird airplanes taxied the runway and were gone for a brief time. From miles away they appeared in seconds to perform their loops and rolls only apart at times. Every time I see those planes do that, I get goose bumps. It just amazes me," said a middle aged spectator in the crowd to no one in -- Airmanship Training v Squadron, the team performs parachuting skills learned for tactical purposes. Where the plane can reach enough altitude, the men also perform hook-up- s and formations, said CMS Mike Copple who oversees the teams programs and has made over 2,000 jumps himself. About 800 cadets a year learn to do five freefall jumps with no static line to prepare for emergency escapes from disabled aircraft. , N sS F-1- 6s J . -- J i i ' v x I 18-inc- GETTING A VANTAGE point from which to watch the Thunderbirds, Zachary Mathews sits on his dads shoulders. He and dad, John Mathews, enjoy the performance as Zacharys glasses reflect the planes path across the sky. Story by Cheryl Archibald Photos by Rodney W. Wright Tech. Sgt. Ralph Griffey stands at attention, surrounded on all sides by four Air Force Honor Guard team members. They simultaneously hurl their bayoneted weapons over and around the drill commander. DRILL COMMANDER routine is just one of the maneuvers performed last Saturprecision day at the Hill Air Force Base open house. Nineteen men are in the Air Force Honor Guard. Sixteen of them perform at a time while marching almost in slow motion. The three-minut- e |
