The weekend of June 5-6, 2009, the Indy Air Show was the the 'place to be' for a good lot of CAP folks from Indiana Wing as well as a few chosen members of Michigan Wing who were invited to 'come and play' at the state's premier air show event.

Members of my unit, Boulle-Norman Memorial Cadet Squadron, made their way to the Mt. Comfort Airport just north of Indianapolis, IN on Friday and on Saturday to assist in the ground operations of this air show, which featured the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.

One of our newer Senior Members, 2LT Robert Bonner, had the privilege of running communications from mission base for most of the day Saturday. Coming from a position where 2LT Bonner has logged over 40,000 hours behind a radio microphone for the City of Grand Rapids, MI, it seemed like the logical choice.

The cadets who traveled down augmented teams from the local area in performing security of the static and active airport ramps. One particular aircraft being looked after was a USN F/A-18 Super Hornet, which was positioned with it's wings in the up position, causing an 'exposed edge' which needed to be protected.

Working the show as a Public Affairs Officer, the highlight for me was having the unprecedented access to the active ramp during the afternoon on Saturday. For someone who has a love of aircraft and aviation as well as photography, I was in my glory and snapped close to 500 photos in just that one day!

Here is a link to my photo gallery, enjoy!

The photo you see to the right I am particularly fond of, in fact, if I would not have backed away from the taxiway when I did, I would have been wearing the right wingtip of that particular A-10 for a hat! ;-)

 Of particular interest to me at this airshow, was the L-39 flight demonstration team, 'The Hoppers'. This team based in the midwest (Michigan/Illinois), is made up of gentlemen with a variety of aviation experience and have a love of flying that exceeds most peoples expectations. The mission statement of 'The Hoppers' demo team is: "Educate the general public, inspire kids to work hard in school and aim high in life, have fun."

One Particular member of 'The Hoppers' with whom I share an interest in regards to the Civil Air Patrol is Maj Tim 'Dawg' Brutsche. Tim is a member of the Kellogg Field Senior Squadron in Battle Creek, MI. While I have yet to have the opportunity to meet Maj Brutsche, I have nothing but respect for the man and what he does, not only with the flight team, but with the generous offer he has made to cadets in Michigan Wing. The offer, as last I heard was still active, is that if any cadet in Michigan Wing achieves their Spaatz Award, they will get the chance for a back seat ride in his L-39! How awesome is that? I'd give my left arm or other appendage to have the opportunity to fly in the back seat of that L-39!

This was the first air show experience from the CAP 'side of the fence' that I, as many of the other members of my unit have had, and I must say, short of the 8-9 hours of driving there and back, it was a LOT of fun! We look forward to going back next year too as Capt Gluntz and Maj Merrill have invited us back for next years show.

This August, the 22-23rd is the Selfridge Air Show at Selfridge ANGB, in Mt. Clemens, MI. I have been tasked as the primary Public Affairs Officer for this event for Civil Air Patrol and I can not wait. The USAF Thunderbirds will be the highlight of the airshow and I look forward to meeting them and the other wonderful pilots and crew that make airshows like this a roaring success. The Michigan Wing, Civil Air Patrol is currently slated to have the largest static display at the show! So that should be a real great shot in the arm for our organization.

If you are in the area, I hope you can make it out, the Selfridge Air Show is one of the better shows in the midwest; and the best part of it? It's absolutely FREE!