The sky’s the limit
Little Rock Air Force Base to open its doors put on a show
By Amy Widner
LITTLE ROCK — The 2008 Little Rock Air Force Base open house and air show will be an event for air show fans, by an air show fan.
The show will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, and Sunday, Oct. 19.
Major Eric Gaulin, air show operations director, grew up attending air shows in his native state, Rhode Island. Now for the first time, he’s had the chance to organize one himself. Gaulin said he has made a point of arranging something for everyone - from mid-air displays of skill to on-the-ground airplane exhibits and the chance for visitors to interact with Air Force personnel. There will be events for veterans and the largest available Army simulator, which will give participants a virtual taste of what it’s like to be on a reallife mission.
With so many people and planes participating, Gaulin said it will be well worth peoples’ time to come out.
“Let’s just put it this way, it’s the most expensive event that’s free that a person will ever see,” Gaulin said. “They will have fun.”
The base’s last air show was in 2006. The main performance alone attracted more than 250,000 spectators, according to a base press release. It is the largest spectator event in Arkansas and the largest air show in the U.S. South Central region.
Gaulin said the big highlights will be the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels and the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights, who will both do in-air displays. To celebrate the local base’s mission, an emphasis will be placed on the kinds of training done at LRAFB, the world’s largest C-130 training base. Different maneuvers will be demonstrated, culminating in a 300-person parachute jump from eight C-130s to center stage - something that hasn’t been performed since the 2005 air show.
Gaulin is particularly excited about this portion of the show, which will begin with World War II re-enactors parachuting from two C-47s, “the grandfather of the C-130” and the kind of plane that would have been used at the D-Day landing in Normandy in 1944. It’s rare enough to see a re-enactment jump from a C-47, Gaulin said, but using two planes is just unheard of.
“It’s nice to see that the planets have aligned to allow this,” Gaulin said. “And even as an organizer, trust me, during this portion of the show I’ll be sitting back just like everybody else, taking it all in.”
Following the World War II demonstration (which will have an accompanying on-ground static exhibit), a group of C-17s will simulate a humanitarian relief supply drop. Then the Arkansas Guard will simulate the drops they do of large equipment like Jeeps and howitzers. The 300-airman drop will wrap up that portion of the LRAFB celebration, which will occur both days.
“Within a span of 30 minutes people are going to see where we all started to where we are now,” Gaulin said. “It’ll be quite a sight, and even something most military people wouldn’t normally get the chance to see.”
Gaulin said the point of air shows are to inform the community and do a little recruiting at the same time.
“There are people who know what the base does, but there are also people who don’t,” Gaulin said. “This is a chance for people to interact with the folks who are actually in the Air Force and get it straight from the source - the maintainer, the pilot or whoever is out there. They can say, ‘Hey, what do you do, have you been to the desert?’ ... Most of thosepeople can say, ‘Yes, I’ve been deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and elsewhere.’ Andhopefully some people will be interested. Here I am, I started off going to air shows, and I’vebeen here (in the Air Force) for 10 years now.”
Chris Roberts is chairman of Airpower Arkansas, a civilian group that raises money for the air show. Roberts agreed that with the air show, community is key.
“We do it because all of us believe that the Air Force base is a major part of our community and they contribute a lot of our local economy,” Roberts said. “But for the most part, we just enjoy supporting the men and women of our armed forces and we like to show them off.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind show. It’s usually only every other year. We’re going to have great weather, nice and cool, so whatbetter way to spend your Saturday or Sunday or both?” Roberts said.
Souvenir, food and informational booths will be on site. Parking and admission are free, and the show is open to the public. Not allowed are: RVs, backpacks, coolers, bikes, in-line skates, pets, glass containers, alcohol or weapons, including pocket knives. Visitors and vehicles will be subject to search.
LRAFB is off U.S. 67/167 at Jacksonville exit 11. More information, specifically more rules and safety guidelines, are available at www.airpowerarkansas.com and www.littlerock.af.mil.
- awidner@ arkansasonline.com
This article was published Sunday, October 5, 2008.
Three Rivers, Pages 112 on 10/05/2008
