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The Idaho National Guard hosted the Gowen Thunder Open house and Airshow, October 14-15 at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho. This is the first time Gowen Field has had an open house and airshow in more than 20 years.
The Thunderbirds, the aerial demonstration squadron of the United States Air Force, and their Canadian counterpart, the Royal Canadian Snowbirds, were the premiere performers at Gowen Thunder. Both demonstration teams performed throughout the two-day airshow, and also provided opportunities for families to meet and get auto-graphs from the pilots.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is the aircraft flown by the Thunderbirds. It is a front-line fighting aircraft used by the United States Air Force. The Thunderbirds have been around since 1953, though they didn’t adopt the F-16 until 1982. The Thunderbirds team is comprised of enlisted, officer and civilian personnel that includes maintainers, inspectors, administrators and other positions that all work together to accomplish the mission.
Tech. Sgt. Conrad Nelson, line chief for the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron, Nellis AFB, Nevada said, “I feel like no unit will ever replace the different conditions that we have to deal with on the team as well as the stress of performing in front of millions of people.”
During the Thunderbirds’ aerial demonstrations, the aircraft seem to get scarily close to each other. However, it’s not just an illusion.
“Depending on the maneuver that they are performing, the closest that they will get is 12 to 18 inches apart. The diamond gets very close, granted that it’s wing over wing and not wingtip to wingtip."
Other airshow performers included Brad Wursten, Dan Buchanan, Mark Peterson and aircraft demonstrations from both the Warhawk Air Museum and A-10 “Warthog” Heritage Flight.
Gowen Thunder also had various static displays of aircraft and military vehicles for attendees to see up close. Static displays included the A-10 Thunderbolt II, UH-60 Black Hawk, and even the F-35 Lightning II. With hopes that the 124th Fighter Wing, Boise, Idaho, gets the F-35 in the near future, this static display was a must-see for many attendees.
The combination of demonstrations and static displays at Gowen Thunder helped the community to learn more about the Idaho National Guard and the 124th Fighter Wing’s mission and capabilities. The open house and airshow is an opportunity for the military to connect with the local community.
Sasha Rodriguez, a Gowen Thunder attendee, said that it’s really cool to have an airshow in Boise, even if it happened every five years.
Gowen Thunder also brought in many vendors that provided food, refreshments and other items for purchase. A science, technology, engineering and math center with many activities for children of all ages was set up both days. This STEM center was presented by Boise State University. Activities included robotics, virtual reality and even 3-D printing.
“My overall perception on how Gowen Thunder went was very smooth,” said Nelson. “I was surprised to see the performances, especially with the A-10s, going up and showing our capabilities. They did a phenomenal job."
“Here closing Sunday, everything has gone so smooth and it’s been great,” said Conrad.
The Idaho National Guard is now planning to host an open house and airshow every other year ongoing, which means the next one, is projected for 2020.
| Date Taken: | 11.03.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 12.28.2017 18:40 |
| Story ID: | 260602 |
| Location: | IDAHO, US |
| Web Views: | 40 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Crowds and Engines Roar at Gowen, by SSgt Skyla Child, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
