Up, up and away...Singapore Airshow 2010
Trip Start
Jul 01, 2009
1
26
50
Trip End
Sep 20, 2010
Changi Singapore, Singapore
Saturday, February 6, 2010
I've always wanted to see our boys, the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds, in action. Every since Top Gun, I'm not sure there's a girl out there that doesn't fancy seeing some sexy men in uniform, flying million dollar aircrafts with extreme precision. (Besides, I'm a particular fan of our Armed Forces...having grown up with my father in the Army.) They are the elite, pulling off crazy stunts and breaking sound barriers. Even boys are in awe of these guys, wanting to grow up and be just like them. So, maybe we wouldn't see those American pilots but there's gotta be something similar overseas.
Steve has long been interested in flying, having initially pursued a potential career as a pilot, getting his license but then changing his mind when he spoke with an airlines pilot and found out that he'd be living a life of a gypsy. (Ha...look at us now, although we are together). So it was his idea to go and check out the show. Although, Steve had gone to a show in San Diego as a wee lil' lad, it was a long time ago and for me, it was my first time. We were both excited!
We just had to get to the airport and were shuttled off to the Exhibition Centre. It was a surprisingly smooth transition, even with all the other people. The sky was nice and blue with a few clouds and the sun was doing it's usual thang, radiating heat. There were two 30 minute shows that day and we opted for the first, at 11:30. Since we were there 30 minutes early, we took some time to walk around.
All the big names were there representing: Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed, Gulfstream, Pilatus, Bombardier, Eurocopter, to name a few. Within the exhibition hall, several countries showed off their aerospace and defense expertise such as Australia, China, France, Germany,
Israel, Italy, Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, UK and the US. As Steve and I were walking around upstairs to scope an indoor space to see the show, we were asked to step aside. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong came strolling by us. We couldn't believe that the security was so relaxed...there's no way we could get that close to Obama (then again there were those party crashers Michaele and Tareq Salahi!).
We ended up just watching the show outdoors, right up front, getting full sound and sun exposure! The show started w/ a USAF pilot, flying in from Andersen AFB, Guam, in the B-52 Stratofortress. Then there was the Republic of Singapore Air Force F-16 Falcon fighter aircraft and AH-64 Apache attack helicopter sharing airspace and at one point flying next to each other, showing how the Falcon can manipulate speed. I was a bit surprised to see South Korea in the show and the pilot had mad aerobatic skills. If I had extra spending cash, I'd be out purchasing a black Eurocopter!
During the show, I noticed a commotion behind us. We turn around and there's this guy with a huge remote control, pretending to fly the aircrafts in the show. There was a videographer and a few photographers capturing the spectical. The funny bit was when people actually went up to the guy, wanting to see if he was really controlling the planes?! Then, asking if they could do it!!! Too funny! (I just Googled it and there's a shoty video of it with us in it! ha!)
After the show, we walked around and took pictures of the landed aircraft. There were a lot of families in line to get a closer look or get their pictures taken in the pilot's seat. Then there were those hiding under the aircrafts to find shelter in their shade from the harsh sun. Ya gotta look through our pictures and see the twins in their red & white tops....the men with the long hair. TOO FUNNY! We were thinking at any moment "Hidden Camera" would come popping out to explain the hoax. They have to be a national celebrity from wherever they came from.
We had fun imagining that we owned our own private planes. Which made me think of the very first time I saw a plane in a Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog...like you'd just say, "Honey, I've circled my wish list in the catalog!" Hopefully, you'd go to the dealer or an air show before just randomly purchasing a plane in a catalog! Dream big, right!
