By Dan Altman
UHCLIDIAN STAFF

Despite a cancellation for Saturday's show, Houston's 18th annual Wings Over Houston Airshow took to the skies Sunday, Oct. 27.

Those in attendance for Sunday's show at Ellington Field were subjected to a shortened version of the event, as overcast skies and a low cloud ceiling canceled many of the scheduled performances.

Saturday's show was canceled to ensure safety of the general public, volunteers and pilots. Tickets purchased for the show were honored the next day, although the abbreviated show was deemed disappointing by many in attendance.

"It's annoying to come out and not get to watch many of the aircraft fly," said Bryan Collins of Friendswood. "Standing around and just looking at the static displays gets old. I paid to see the military jets and the Thunderbirds."

Scheduled military demonstrations included the AV-8 Harrier, F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle, C-17 Globemaster and the United States Air Force Thunderbirds flight demonstration team. Civilian performances scheduled were Debbie Rihn Harvey, Charles Kulp, Debbie Gary, "King Crunch" monster truck and the RE/MAX parachute jump team. The famous Tora, Tora, Tora show demonstrating the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was also on the show's schedule.

Among those that actually did take to the skies were the C-17, the Tora, Tora, Tora show and Charles Kulp doing his "Flying Farmer routine."

The enormous C-17 cargo transport made numerous runs at the field despite the weather conditions and showcased a few features of the plane.

The Tora, Tora, Tora demonstration consisted of numerous vintage World War II Japanese aircraft making bombing runs at the Ellington runway and, through the use of pyrotechnics initiating explosions. Near the conclusion of the flight demonstrations, an Air Force B-1 Bomber made a pass on the Ellington area, and also made use of the pyrotechnics for a simulated bomb drop.

Among the aircraft that did not take to the skies were the F-14 Tomcat, USAF Thunderbirds and the F-15 Eagle. The military paratrooper team was not able to make their jumps either due to weather complications.

Representatives from all branches of the U.S. Military were on hand, giving information to patrons interested in joining the military. The U.S. Navy provided a motion simulator to give participants the feeling of flying in a jet aircraft.

From top to bottom: Pictured is a logo from the nose of a Randolph AFB B-1 Bomber, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds were on the runway but unable to perform due to weather conditions, airshow patrons examine the B-52 bomber and the U.S. Navy's T-45 Goshawk was on Static display.
photos by Dan Altman





Some of the aircraft featured on static display were the A-10 Thunderbolt, F-18 Hornet and the C-5 Galaxy, which is the largest aircraft in the U.S. Military. The F-117 Stealth Fighter also made an appearance, although just for a few minutes as it was wheeled across the Ellington tarmac.

"It was disappointing to miss out on the flying performances, but I still had fun," said Clear Lake resident Jeffrey Murphy. "The aircraft parked on the ramp are cool to look at and take pictures of."

Wings Over Houston's Airshow is an annual event held every October at Ellington Field.

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