Wings of War Take to Skies Over Mojave

A wave of pride and patriotism swept through the Mojave Desert skies Sunday as Edwards Air Force Base held its annual air show, featuring some of the Air Force’s most sophisticated weapons and gems from its past.

A crowd of about 300,000 flocked to the base, ignoring the gusty morning chill to witness in beach chairs and blankets the traditional display of air pirouettes. They were not disappointed.

Bombers and fighters old and new drew circles and spirals of white smoke in the clear blue sky and stopped time and again just short of hitting the runway in breathtaking, twisting, vertical dives.

On the ground, sandwiched between hot dog stands, beer stalls and souvenir tents, an array of state-of-the-art flying machines rounded out the exhibition. Pilots and mechanics stood by their cordoned-off planes and patiently answered technical questions from an endless mass of aerospace buffs.

“This is the investment of every American to make sure the skies are free for democracy,” Maj. Gen. John P. Schoeppner, base commander, told his civilian guests in opening the show.

Minutes earlier, the Thunderbirds, the Air Force aerobatic flying team, made a spectacular entrance to the base in tight formations that held despite the increasing complexity of their maneuvers.

Under a worn straw hat, barefooted Jeff O’Brian, a Budweiser in one hand and a Marlboro in the other, sighed admiringly. “This is awesome, dude,” said the 27-year-old Lancaster cabdriver. “I’d like to go for a ride with them.”

Teen-agers wearing military fatigues, B-1 Bomber T-shirts and caps with the names of aircraft carriers looked to the horizon with anticipation as the show’s narrator announced the squadron’s next feat over the public address system:

“Now coming from the right, performing an eight-point roll. . . .”

Aviation folk hero Chuck Yeager took his fans back in time by getting into an F-4 and breaking the sound barrier all over again--a repeat of his landmark performance in 1947 in the X-1.

“It’s great to be back,” said the retired test pilot after climbing out of his aircraft in front of the VIP seats near the main runway. Yeager, 66, a young captain when he set his record, is a retired brigadier general.

As a swirling string of World War II fighter planes appeared overhead, Yeager ducked into a waiting car and was gone.

The aerial parade continued as onlookers took aim with binoculars, camera lenses and video cameras.

“I really liked the SR-71” reconnaissance plane, said Palmdale air traffic controller Dan Johnson, 49, as he ate nachos and drank a Pepsi. He pointed to his newly purchased SR-71 sweat shirt and baseball cap. “As traffic controller, I talk to these planes all the time and I can tell you, they’re pretty fast,” Johnson said.

John Deagon, 10, admired an F-16 jet fighter as the country tune “I’m Proud to Be an American” blared from loudspeakers. “I really like the World War II planes,” he said. “I just like them a lot. They’re like old-fashioned planes and stuff, and it’s neat to see them fly.”

Others said they simply enjoyed the camaraderie. “The show’s a real opportunity for the local people to see what the Air Force is all about, what the service is all about and what NASA has to offer,” said a woman, who identified herself as Mrs. Stan M. Campbell. “We’re retired Navy,” she said, pointing to her husband, who was standing nearby.