Even sweltering heat couldn’t stop Thunder over the Amistad

Published May 19, 2008
By Airman 1st Class Sara Csurilla
47th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs

LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- It was a crowded flight line May10 when Laughlin hosted "Thunder over the Amistad," the highly anticipated 2008 air show.

"Everything went so great," said Maj. Johnathan Fontenot, air show director with the 47th Operations Group. "I'm glad that so many people from Del Rio and the surrounding community came out to enjoy themselves. Many guests that participated in the air show said they felt very welcomed at Laughlin and in Del Rio."

The ambient temperature reached a high of 106 degrees and at certain times of the day the concrete on the flight line reached between 120 to 130 degrees, according to the 47th weather flight.

Despite the heat, more than 8,500 civilians and an estimated 2,000 military members came out to enjoy the static display aircraft and the 16 acts that performed, according to Major Fontenot.

Shows included civilian aircraft such as the Franklin Air show with a staged drunken Piper cub ride, a Twin Beech 18 act and the Jill "Raggz" Long biplane aerobatics show.
Spectators were treated to a B-2 Spirit and A-10 Thunderbolt II demonstrations, and were taken back to a time before stealth bombers and mach speeds with military World War II and Korean War era aircraft such as a B-25 Mitchell and a P-40 Warhawk.

Thunder over the Amistad would not have been complete without the very last act, the Thunderbirds, the U. S. Air Force's premier demonstration squadron. The Thunderbirds performed precision aerial maneuvers to demonstrate the capabilities of the F-16 aircraft.

"All the shows went great and the air show in all went really good," said Major Fontenot. "I would really like to thank the Military Affairs Association and the local community; they're a huge reason why everything went so smoothly."