KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Thunderbirds pilot Maj. Dann Carlson said the F-16s will be flying in close formation at speeds of more than 460 mph.
Air Force stunt pilots
promise exciting show
The pilots of the Air Force's elite Thunderbirds squadron say the estimated 100,000 people expected to attend their shows this weekend will not be disappointed.
"I promise you, you will see something different every 15 seconds," said Maj. Dann Carlson, after the squadron landed at Hickam Air Force Base yesterday for aerial shows tomorrow and Sunday.
Carlson, 36, is one of the eight F-16 jet fighter pilots of the Thunderbirds, whose last appearance in Hawaii was in 1997.
He said the public will be treated to "30 minutes of the most spectacular air demonstration" tomorrow and Sunday.
The air show will begin at 4 p.m. on each day.
The gates at Hickam will open at 10 a.m. each day and close at 6 p.m. However, Air Force officials warn that the entire base will not be open to the public.
Visitors will be funneled from the gate to parking areas. No coolers or pets will be allowed. Official estimate crowds totaling up to 100,000 people could attend the shows.
Besides the air show, there will 26 aircraft, including an F-117 Stealth fighter and a B-52 bomber, on display on the flight line along with a carnival midway.
He said that six F-16 jet fighters will be traveling from 460 to 517.5 mph, sometimes flying in formation "as close to each other as 18 inches."
"These are the same jets we used in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Carlson, who flew 260 combat missions over Iraq during "Operation Southern Watch" and in the Balkan campaign, "except we have taken out the guns and replaced them with smoke coils."
