Ansan Airshow

We went on adventure of grand proportion a few weeks ago when we attended the Ansan Air Show.  The monetary woes of the U.S. government has put a nail in the coffin of any extraneous expenditures, which includes airshows and demonstration team performances. However, the Republic of Korea was happy to host some U.S. airpower ( in the form of the might F-16 fighting falcon, the A-10 warthog, and the U-2 DragonLady) at their airshow held in the town of Ansan.
I took my Korean friend, Hyo Eun, and her son (who does Tae Kwon Do with the boys)-- I translated what all the airplane stuff meant, and she translated all the Korean.  It was a pretty beautiful arrangement!

The Koreans know how to host an airshow, and keep people of all ages entertained.  In between aerial demonstrations there were pottery wheels to try your hand at, artists painting hands, police and firemen, booths from the regional history museums with traditional Korean paper and stamping plates, simulators, bounce houses, and, of course, snack shacks.  For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, we even got strapped into a paragliding rig, hoisted into the sky on a crane, and afforded a top-notch view of all the festivities.

 

 We picnicked, sharing Hyo Eun's Korean treats and my American fare, while we watched aerial dare devils scream across the sky in amazing demonstrations of skill and flying prowess.  Planes are humbling machines on the ground, and they never cease to amaze me when pushed to maximum capacity-- testing both man and machine.  It was a day full of performances that deserved standing ovations.... only the performers never even got to see their audience!

The ROKAF demonstration team, the Black Eagles--flying fighter jets just like our own Thunderbirds--painted the South Korean flag with their sky smoke, and the Breitling Aerial Demonstration Team (the only civilian JET demonstration team) showed that the company not only understands watches, but the importance of timing.  It was impressive to witness such diverse groups performing-- and an opportunity that I'm convinced we were only afforded because of our willingness to get out and explore.
 Apparently, for many Korean girls in attendance that day, Seth was a much more interesting attraction.  He posed for just as many photos as the Black Eagle Planes above.....