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| - It pains me to give Aviation Nation only a 3.5 (4)-Star rating today but given my experience of this first air show at Nellis AFB since the government sequester of 2013, I have to do what is right. What is right is to let the people know what is up.
First of all, parking was at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway as it always is. I followed the traffic from I-15 down Speedway Blvd and went to where the military personnel directed me. Where they directed me was towards the ADA bus stop which I was then informed I could not use as I am not disabled. Instead I was told to use the busses on the opposite and far end of the parking lot. Why did they not have me parking over there? Now people who arrived later received the better parking spots. That seems backwards and extremely frustrating. What they did right, or at least satisfactory, was crowd control. And at 10:00 sharp the busses were rolling. I was amongst the first to board and enter Nellis.
On the ground everything looked completely normal. All of the static displays, souvenirs, and food booths were as in years past. It is the same set up as always. It must be a master plan or something. "Variety is the spice of life" is a phrase unknown to the air show world. At least they are consistant. It makes it easier to navigate the rather long flight line on which spectators gather. Having been many times (at least 5) in previous years, I did not see a need to look so in depth at all of the planes on display. I walked the length amd saw what there was to see and took a few pictures along the way. Perhaps most fascinating was the F-35 Lightning JSF which I anticipated seeing in the air later. It is new(ish) and highly advanced. Exciting.
Disappointing. The F-35 did in fact fly but not in the way I expected it to. Along with the bigger brother, F-22 Raptor, the Lightning opened the air show with a flyby. That was it. No flight demonstration as I had read on various sites. Come to think of it, there were several aircraft that did not fly that I was looking forward to. The B-1B Lancer, a P-38 Lightning, more than just two F-86 Sabers and one F-22 for the heritage flight. It used to be something like. P-51 Mustang, an F-86 Saber, an F-4 Phantom II, and an F-22 Raptor. Four planes representing four generations of air superiority. There was a lot missing from the air this year. And what did fly was not all too thrilling. Sure, some of it was cool. The Albatross was actually impressive for just a little trainor plane. But the reinactments actually put me to sleep. It was the same planes in the same order making the same gunning/bombing passes over and over again. Once is exciting. Twice is acceptable. Three times and more is just sad. Do you have nothing else to offer? The F-15 Eagles and F-16 Falcons were loud and fast and that is never a bad thing. Seeing them drop flares was kind of a cool feature. One I have not seen often at the air shows. But their little demonstration was short on variety. Where was the individual display of performance for these air beasts? They use to showcase what a modern jet fighter can do. The only one that really did this was the F-22 Raptor and no matter how many times I have seen it, I am always left in awe. Lockheed inginuity has made the F-22 one remarkable and wholly stunning beauty in the air. The things this plane can do is just unbelievable wven if you see it for your self. This, for me is the highlight of the show. I left after this and missedthe Thunderbirds. I have seen them so many times and I have the highest respect for them. I just don't need to see them perform everytime. When I am hot and tired I just like to beat the 100,000 people out of the parking lot. Especially since I have such a long walk back to my car.
I am grateful to Nellis AFB and all the armed forces for opening the base to the public. And for all they do for our country whether at home or abroad. But when it comes to Aviation Nation 2014, it was a let down when compared to the past years. Orginization just leaves something to be desired.
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