Nellis readies for air show

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- The 2006 Nellis Air Show is Nov. 11 and 12.

The show will feature military and civilian aircraft from around the world performing air demonstrations and as static displays.

"Our air show serves many purposes; gives recruiters an opportunity to educate interested or potentially interested young men and women about a career in our Air Force. Aviation Nation helps foster community relations; we at Nellis are extremely lucky to have the strong community support of all the cities in the Southern Nevada area and the Air Show is a chance for Nellis to say thanks for the support and in some cases its an opportunity to show what the Air Force/Nellis does for our community partners. Most importantly, though, our Air Show plays host to over 100,000 guests who get a great sampling of what we do at Nellis and in the Air Force to successfully accomplish our day- to-day mission... wherever in the world we are performing that mission," said Bob Jones, Nellis Air Show director. "Our show has 22 demonstrations and flybys scheduled. We have a wide variety of aircraft on static display and in the air."

"In fact," he said, "other than the time when the Thunderbirds are performing their engine tests, there will be an aircraft in the air throughout the course of the entire air show from 8: 5 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. It's a great show."

The Air Force's new CV-22 Osprey will make its debut at the Nellis Air Show, showcasing the capabilities of the tilt-rotor aircraft.

Other military aircraft scheduled to perform include the F/A-18 Super Hornet, F-117A Nighthawk, MQ-1 Predator, F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-22A Raptor. The F-16 Solo Display Team from the Belgian Air Force is scheduled to perform and of course, we are the "home crowd" for our World Famous Thunderbirds.

Civilian performances in the show include the Red Bull MiG, the Oracle Challenger, the Flight for Diabetes Laser 230, a Korean War air power demonstration and a U.S. Navy Legacy Flight.

On the ground, many U.S. military and civilian aircraft will be on display for the crowd, including: an F-22A Raptor, an A-10 Thunderbolt II, a B-52 Stratofortress, a C-5 Galaxy, a KC-10 Extender, a X-45 UCAV unmanned reconnaissance vehicle, a Douglas DC-3, a B-17 Flying Fortress, a P-51 Mustang, a T-28 "Trojan" and a PT-22.

"Our air show is an exciting experience... a great time to bring the family out and show them what our Air Force is all about," Mr. Jones said.