The Aviation Magazine No 58 July-August edition of The Aviation Magazine | Page 44
U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter served as their jump aircraft for the entire show.
To turn up the noise early in the day, the U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor Demo Team took to the
skies for their first performance of the day. The team, based out of Langley Air Force Base,
Virginia, performed one of it’s first of nearly twenty air shows of the 2018 season at Beale.
The pilot of the team is Major. Paul “Loco” Lopez. During the routine, Loco showcased the
multiple super manoeuvrability characteristics of the F-22 including tight turns, tail slides, and
power loops.
The show featured a variety of different aerobatic performers throughout the day. These per-
formers included Vicky Benzing in her Boeing Stearman biplane, Chuck Coleman in his Extra
300, and the West Coast Ravens formation team which consisted of 16 RV aircraft.
In addition to multiple aerobatics, there was a good showcase of warbird aircraft featured in
the sky. A WWII reenactment was conducted resembling a Pacific style battle. The aircraft
that participated in the demonstration included the F6F Hellcat, Yak-9U, and PBJ Mitchell.
Gregory “Wired” Colyer performed in his Korean War era T-33 Shooting Star trainer jet known
as “Ace Maker II.” During Colyer’s routine, he showcased the many different aerobatic ma-
noeuvres of the Shooting Star and even raced with the Smoke ’n’ Thunder Jet Truck.
Team Beale had an impressive showcase of their home based aircraft throughout the day. The
U-2 Dragon Lady was a major highlight of the show and performed many touch and go simu-
lations with a Precision Exotics Ferrari as its chase car along the runway. After performing the
touch and goes, the jet then lifted off to 70 thousand feet. Later the pilot also conducted a
swear in for new recruits of the Air Force. It was a very rare and special way of recruiting new
people into the U.S. Military. Other aircraft from Beale that performed flybys included a 4-
Ship formation flight of T-38 Talons and a KC-135 Stratotanker. Later, the U-2 and two of the
T-38s took back to the sky and performed a very rare formation flight together as a Team
Beale tribute.
Super Guppy from NASA, above
RQ-4 Global Hawk from 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale AFB, CA, below
Th ere were other military flybys throughout the day including a U.S. Coast Guard C-27J Spar-
tan which flew in locally from McClellan Airport in Sacramento. An MC-12 Huron which was
formerly based out of Beale also performed a flyby in tribute to the crew that was killed in the
Indy 08 crash.
Towards the end of the show, the Patriots Jet Team took to the skies performing in their six
black L-39 Albatross Czech trainer jets. The team dazzled the audience with a variety of dif-
ferent formations, head on passes, and even tail slides with the addition of red, white, and
blue smoke. The Patriots are locally based out of Byron Airport and perform at multiple air
shows across the West Coast every year.
Concluding flying activities was the second performance from the F-22 Raptor Demo Team.
Loco showcased the same solo demonstration that he performed earlier in the show, but this
time featured the U.S. Air Force Heritage Flight afterward. The Heritage Flight is a special trib-
ute to those who served in the Air Force from past and present by performing a formation
flight of active and retired fighter aircraft. In the formation, Loco teamed up with an F-86 Sa-
bre piloted by Kevin Eldridge. After the flying display, Loco visited the crowd line and met with
spectators and passed out F-22 Demo stickers.
After the aerial activities concluded, spectators were able to continue visiting the static dis-
plays and vendors before gates closed at 5:00 pm. Special thanks to the organizers, volun-
teers, sponsors, performers, and attendees for making the 2018 Beale Air & Space Expo a
success!