USAF Aviation Nation Airshow

[n7ur]

Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, NV, The Nellis Radio Amateur Club in cooperation with the United States Air Force will be operating Special Event Station N7V at this weekends "Aviation Nation" airshow. #The airshow featuring aerial demonastrations, air races, and aircraft displays, will be celebrating 100 years of powered flight and the 50th Anniversary of the USAF Thunderbirds Demonstration Team.

Amateur radio operators will be demonstrating both the fun and practical applications of ham radio to the 500,000 people expected to attend this event.

Special Event Station N7V was first hosted at Aviation Nation in 2002 and was well received by the spectators.

The Nellis Radio Amateur Club has noted that the aviation enthusiast attending past events were keenly interested in radio technology as well as Amateur Radio as a public service.

The station will operate from 16;00 UTC - 00:30 UTC November 15 and 16, 2003. #Operating frequencies will be 7.260 mhz, 14.260 mhz, 18.160 mhz, 21.360 mhz, 24.960 mhz, and 28.460 mhz all + or - to allow for conditions. #The station will also be heard on the ILRP Western Reflector.

A successful demonstration is dependent upon the station making frequent QSO's with other hams around the world #Amateurs communicating with N7V will be eligible for a full color comerative certificate. #To claim a certificate, QSL to: Nellis Radio Amateur Club, PO Box 363813, North Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 89181-7013 #Enclose your choice of $1.00 or a 9" x 12" envelope with sufficient postage attached.

For more information on the Aviation Nation airshow visit:
www.nellisairshow.com

For more info on the Nellis Radio Amateur Club visit:
www.nellisrac.org
www.geocities.com/n7ur

73's and looking forward to meeting you on the air this weekend.

The Nellis Radio Amateur Club
John N7UR
President

[N7YA]

The airshow was a success from what i saw, fisrt off, i want to thank the Nellis ARC for taking the time and initiative to promote our hobby to the public, they had an HF station, as well as VHF, flyers and video presentations going. I was walking by with my son and saw them there preaching the gospel to the masses...Great job guys!
The airshow itself was very cool, im a flying buff and a bit of an aviation historian (not officially however), heres my airshow report....a bit long...
On display there was all sorts of stuff, a C-5, C-141 of which the crew said would be fully phased out by 2005, C-130, an AWACS 707, C-12, B-52, KC-135, KC-10, B1B, F-15, F-16, A-10, F-18A, F-14, F-117, F-22, Joint Strike Fighter, A-6, F-105,a MiG flown by the RedBull crew, Predator unmanned recon vehicle, HH-60, Huey, Apache, a Fedex 727, lots of small planes and stunt planes as well.
There was also an assortment of oldies there, a DC-3, B-25 Mitchell, Ford Trimotor, B-17, a Corsair, T-33, old Navy trainers, including a Navy biplane trainer that George Bush Sr. trained in, it has copies of the letter written by the former president verifying it, including a copy of the flight log sent by George himself to the owner. i think its important to recognize the owners, crew and pilots of these classic birds, most of the time, the owner is all of the above.
the amount of money, time and effort put into maintaining these old aircraft is mindboggling, they deserve our appreciation, any help you can give them is always welcome, take a ride, a tour or just buy a shirt...it all helps, you think we have an expensive hobby?? try owning and operation a Lockheed Constellation!!
Other attractions at the show were a fully loaded ground-to-air comm Hummer, that was quite cool! anti aircraft guns, a rocket launcher, engine displays, master model builders, all kinds of food and sevices, the Highway Patrol had a few vehicles out there as well, of course the guys and gals at the N7V station. all branches of the service were represented, Motoart aviation furniture had a display out there...cool stuff.
Then of course, the flying! thats what most people go to airshows to see, there were 2 air races, the first was a limited class, small single/single racers made in the garages and livingrooms of the pilots...again, a labor of love, then the big boys, the unlimited class, mostly P-51 Mustangs...i missed most of that one since i was standing in line inside the C-130 with my son to sit in the cockpit, i wont deny the boy a chance to feel the thrill of sitting in the pilots seat. also a flyby from the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, and flying demos from jet teams, an F-16, F-14, and F-18's. a B-26 did a couple of passes, as did some old WWII fighters...some of the best displays of pilot skill were performed by the Thunderbirds, of course, ive seen them many times over the years and never tire of it...im lucky to live in the same city as they do. but one of the most breathtaking pilots ive ever seen was a gentleman in his solo stunt biplane, i dont remember his name or the name of his team but he was doing things with a fixed wing aircraft that i didnt think possible, hovering in mid air, flopping around out of control then snapping right back into perfect flight...amazing! all the while talking to the crowd on the ground on the PA and cracking jokes, laughing and having a great time, quote "What a job i have!! WOOHOO!!" gotta love it!
This show is second only to the airshow Nellis put on for the Air Forces 50th, they had anything you could imagine, i stood under the wing of an SR-71 and watched another do a full afterburner flyby, you just dont forget things like that!
There was a lot of firepower present to show that security wasnt playing any games, serious security checkpoints, M-16s on every guard, as soon as the bus entered the base, we were met with a combat fitted Hummer with an M60 mounted on top and an SP manning it...no games, period! the bussing system was total mayhem, almost a riot a couple of times...similar to the evacuation scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but otherwise a good time.
Ok, i will shut up about it now! :-) i apologize for the bandwidth for those with dial-up, but i thought a report was in order, Thanks to Nellis air base, and special thanks to the Nellis ARC for taking the time to promote! and thanks to the owners of the classic aircraft who work very hard to preserve the legacy of flight for generations to come.

I hope to see you all out there for the next show!

73...Adam, N7YA