{"id":7383,"date":"2023-07-17T11:10:23","date_gmt":"2023-07-17T11:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviation-news.info\/?p=7383"},"modified":"2023-07-17T11:10:23","modified_gmt":"2023-07-17T11:10:23","slug":"duluth-airshow-salutes-aviation-on-2023-opening-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviation-news.info\/?p=7383","title":{"rendered":"Duluth Airshow salutes aviation on 2023 opening day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aviation news international- DULUTH \u2014 My Duluth Air and Aviation Expo experience began Friday, when I found myself sitting in the nose of a B-25 bomber flying west over the city’s hillside. I had to remind myself not to be distracted by the extraordinary view; to consider the fact that I was flying in a historic military plane built for a war that began and ended before my parents were born.<\/p>\n

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West Duluth and the St. Louis River Estuary are seen from the nose of the Miss Mitchell, a B-25 bomber, on Friday.<\/figcaption>
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Jay Gabler \/ Duluth News Tribune<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A day later, on Saturday, I watched that same plane fly low over a Duluth International Airport runway several times while a voice heard over loudspeakers told the story of the Doolittle Raid: a dangerous 1942 air attack on Japan involving planes of the same make. “God bless you, raiders,” intoned the voice as proud music surged.<\/p>\n

The reality that boundary-pushing aviation carries unavoidable risks, even in peacetime, was driven home less than an hour later, when a member of the U.S. Navy Parachute Team was seriously injured during a stunt jump. The airshow paused for 45 minutes while the injured jumper received care and was evacuated by helicopter.<\/p>\n

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Navy parachutist considered stable after Duluth Airshow injury<\/a><\/div>\n
A U.S. Navy Parachute Team member hit the ground hard and was taken by air ambulance to the hospital.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

(In a Sunday news release, the Duluth Airshow said the jumper was in “stable condition” at Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Health Center but that the team would not be participating in Sunday’s show as an official investigation is planned.)<\/p>\n

The pause was a somber interval in a day that otherwise had a carnival atmosphere, with attendees browsing displays and parking their portable chairs to watch several hours of aerial entertainment. The accident happened during a second appearance by the U.S. Navy Parachute Team, who also opened the show with several jumpers trailing streams of color and carrying a “don’t tread on me” flag.<\/p>\n

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Announcer Rob Reider introduces U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar at the Duluth Airshow on Saturday, July 15.<\/figcaption>
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Jay Gabler \/ Duluth News Tribune<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Rob Reider, whose\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0describes him as “the most sought-after announcer on the North American Air Show circuit,” narrated the day’s events with a chummy sincerity. When the parachute team’s cargo plane took off with a roar during introductory remarks by U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, Reider declared: “That, Senator, is the sound of freedom.”<\/p>\n

Duluth’s own 148th Fighter Wing had pride of place with the first official jet demonstration. “They’re going to beat up the field a little bit,” said Reider as a pair of F-16 Fighting Falcons zipped through the air. Numerous attendees wore “Top Gun” shirts, and no wonder: The airshow was very much in the spirit of Maverick’s infamous control tower flybys.<\/p>\n

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Jerome LeBlanc of San Diego is dressed as Maverick from the movie \u201cTop Gun\u201d during the Duluth Air and Aviation Expo on Saturday.<\/figcaption>
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Clint Austin \/ Duluth News Tribune<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Between regular departures for United and Delta passenger flights, a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane demonstrated a short field landing, rolling backward after coming to a quick stop. (No, Reider explained, the plane doesn’t have a backup cam.)<\/p>\n

While the wildfire haze that gave the Northland’s morning skies a red tint had largely lifted by early afternoon, the airshow audience greeted a much more proximal source of smoke with the arrival of the fire-belching Smoke-n-Thunder Jet Car.<\/p>\n

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The Smoke-n-Thunder jet car creates a cloud of smoke and fire while warming up.<\/figcaption>
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Clint Austin \/ Duluth News Tribune<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A ground vehicle so fast it needs to deploy a parachute as a brake, the jet car later provided a moment that caused attendees to leap from their camp chairs and hold phones aloft: it raced an airplane, Kyle Fowler’s bright yellow Long EZ, introduced as having come “all the way from Canada!” The race was judged a draw, though the Jet Car was surging ahead by the time its chute fluttered out.<\/p>\n

Stunt pilot Britt Lincoln took the air in an Extra 330SC monoplane and performed a stomach-flopping series of maneuvers, even as she chatted merrily with Reider by radio.<\/p>\n

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Britt Lincoln performs at the Duluth Airshow<\/div>\n
Produced by Dan Williamson<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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