Holloman AFB October 27-28, 2007

Story and photography by Brian Emch

  October 27 and 28 was the date for the semi-annual “Thunder over the Basin” Airshow at Holloman AFB in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Attendance was lower than expected but estimates were around 80,000. Weather was perfect, clear and warm. This year’s show was a balance between X-Prize activity and an airshow, with numerous rockets on display and at least one lunar lander prototype being launched.

 

  Photographers from around the world converged on the base for one very special photo op - the Holloman Legacy Flight. This was a four ship formation (one that we’ll more than likely never see again), featuring the F-22 Raptor, F-117 Nighthawk, QF-4E Phantom; and F-15 Eagle. This airshow was probably also the F-117’s swan song locally, as the remaining 27 aircraft in service are slated to be mothballed by April 2008. There are 22 in retirement right now. By the time this write-up is printed, the big November Nellis AFB ‘Aviation Nation’ show will have featured an F-117 demo, but the Holloman event, well, that was probably the last time that multiple flying F-117s will ever be seen  at an airshow. Most aviation fans are sorry to see it go, of course, but keep it mind, it has been flying since 1978 and the F-22 is surely more than capable of filling the Nighthawk’s role in the future, with its superior maneuverability, speed, and own stealth features.

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  Another popular aircraft was the QF-4E Phantom, of which there were three present. Two of those were on the hot ramp, not open to the general public. Aircraft #72-162 is the 82nd Aerial Target Squadron’s new flagship. It and #74-626 are being rotated into the Heritage Flight program in order to replace two Holloman Heritage birds that are slated to go down in a blaze of glory in the near future as target drones. One of these ‘new’ Heritage Phantoms features markings honoring the late Robin Olds. Phantom fans will recall that the Tyndall-based ‘Euro One’ Heritage aircraft was put back on ‘Death Row’ earlier this year, and one other Tyndall Heritage bird is now on the processing ramp at AMARC in Tucson, awaiting its final fate. At the end of each day, the Heritage Flight went up, and featured one of the Phantoms, a P-51 Mustang - ‘Six Shooter’, flown by Chuck Hall (who will be retiring at the end of this year), and the F-16 Viper West aircraft, flown by Capt. Russ ‘Spiccoli’ Piggott. Major John “Shamu” Markle flew the Phantom in the Heritage Flights, and did some very nice high speed passes afterwards, which made for a perfect ending to the airshow.

 

  Another big highlight at the show was the presence of the base’s future - the F-22 Raptor. Two of them were on display, both from Nellis AFB’s “OT” tail coded 422nd test group. Even though it wasn’t the full demo, the Raptor pilot that flew in the show did a fantastic job, including a photo pass for the crowd’s cameras. On day two, it even produced a bit of vapor (condensation) on its wings, something you wouldn’t expect at this locale. Other acts in the airshow included a wing walker, the B-25J “Pacific Prowler, with its beautiful Grim Reaper / American flag nose art; a three ship T-28B team, and the T-6 ‘Double Vee’ which was once flown by the renowned Tuskegee Airmen. A B-1 from Dyess AFB made an appearance on day one of the show; a Kirtland-based CV-22 Osprey flew during the afternoon; a Homeland Security / Border Patrol Blackhawk helped several ‘agents’ to ‘acquire’ a new pickup truck from the base runway. Several F-117s took to the skies for one last look; the Red Bull ‘Air Force’ was present with their aerobatic helicopter and Bill Reeseman’s Mig-17. The USAF Academy’s ‘Wings of Blue’ Skydiving team was there and additional aerobatics were provided by Rob Holland and Tim Weber.