The 2003 Miramar Air Show
October 18, 2003
These photos were taken by me, Fred Bruenjes, at the 2003 MCAS Miramar Airshow in San Diego, Californa. The show didn't disappoint, it had top notch performances, a great demonstration of what the Marines do, and static displays that spanned the spectrum of American aviation. The weather was about as good as I could ask for.
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John Collver in his AT-6 Texan "War Dog".
Bret Willat's Sailplane Magic.
Sailplane and F-117 Stealth Fighter meet.
Joe Brown's Secret Weapon Jet Car raced the Stealth.
F-117 Stealth Fighter.
AV-8B Harrier...
...going up!
I'd estimate the bleachers were 80-90% full. Attendance was around 500,000 over the three days.
Patty Wagstaff inside her Extra 300S.
Patty climbs, loops, rolls,...
and cuts a tape stretched across the runway while inverted!
B-1B Lancer bomber, also known as "The Bone", takes off above the Blue Angels.
It returns and screams past the airfield with full afterburners.
Bill Reesman's Russian MiG-17F Red Bull has a serious afterburner!
The Golden Knights U.S. Army Parachute Team jumps out of their plane.
The ceremonial opening of the airshow (at around noon) consists of a Golden Knight carrying down a flag while being circled by the Red Baron Stearman Squadron.
MAGTF Demonstration
The Marine Air-Ground Task Force demo is a simulated attack showing what the Marines typically do.
A tanker plane takes off...
...and demonstrates in-flight (mid-air) refueling.
Two of the helicopters in this demo are the actual choppers used in the Jessica Lynch rescue.
A good bit of hardware and people in the show today recently returned from Iraq.
The Marines have landed!
Dropping off a howitzer for the ground troops.
The troops take up positions.
ATTACK! The "target" is hit from the air by attack copter and from the ground.
Victorious, the troops make a victory lap along the stands.
An F-18 Hornet lands after the demonstration.
The Red Baron Stearman Squadron does aerobatic tricks in vintage aircraft.
An F-16 Fighting Falcon shows off power and speed.
Apollo Astronaut Bill Anders takes off in his P-51 Mustang...
...and joins the F-16 for a Heritage Flight.
Aerobat Sean Tucker poses for a picture with the crowd as the background.
The Blue Angels' Marine Corps C-130 Fat Albert does a JATO (Jet Assisted Take Off).
The finale is of course the Blue Angels performance.
Blue Angel #6 wasn't able to perform due to unspecified medical difficulties.
Static Displays
Everything about a C-5 Galaxy cargo plane is massive.
This rascally radar knocks out my satellite TV reception whenever it is running!
I am happy to report that I had absolutely no problems with car traffic on Saturday, getting in or out. The secret is to come early and stay late: say from 8:30am to 5:30pm. I can also recommend the east gate (Miramar Way), it's a longer walk but it dumps you right onto the I-15. When leaving the parking lot at the end of the day, be sure to ask for directions from the first knowledgable-looking Marine you meet: I got excellent directions and shot right off the base without a single car in front of me! If you're the kind of person who just wants to come for the Blue Angels performance and then leave immediately after, well then forget it, stay home. 100,000 people just can't fit through five road lanes in a short amount of time.
I used Canon D60 and 10D digital SLRs, with 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L IS and 17-40mm F/4L lenses to shoot the show, and Phase One's Capture One DSLR LE software to process the images.
