Air Show Claimed Life of 5 Tour OEF OIF Veteran

U.S. Army Parachutist Who Served Five Tours in Iraq and Afghanistan Dies After Chicago Air Show Accident
The Blaze
Dave Urbanski
Aug. 16, 2015

Hood was a sergeant first class who served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan during his 10 years in the Army, according to his bio. He also received two Bronze Stars and two Meritorious Service Medals and recorded more than 500 freefall jumps since 2010. He hailed from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Sgt. First Class Corey Hood

(Image source: U.S. Army)

CHICAGO (TheBlaze/AP) — A U.S. Army parachutist died Sunday after suffering severe injuries from an accident during a stunt at the Chicago Air and Water Show, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

Corey Hood, 32, was pronounced dead just after 4 p.m. Sunday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, said Mario Johnson, a medical examiner’s investigator.

The Army Golden Knights and Navy Leap Frogs parachute teams were performing what is known as a “bomb burst” Saturday when the collision occurred, a Golden Knights spokeswoman Donna Dixon said Saturday. During the stunt, parachutists fall with red smoke trailing from packs and then separate, creating a colorful visual in the sky.
read more here

UPDATE
Army Skydivers Returning to Fort Bragg After Member's Death
CHICAGO — Aug 17, 2015

ABC Latest News | Latest News Videos

Melbourne AIrshow Not Worth The Trip

This morning my husband and I headed over to the Space Coast for the Melbourne Airshow. What should have taken about 90 minutes, turned into over 2 hours because of traffic near the airport. Then it was a trip from hell onto the grass lot and $20 just to park the car. We were crammed in tight and not sure if we'd be able to leave early. We were told we could.

The walk to the venue was over a mile away. Not a great idea considering while most folks are still dealing with Winter hanging around, it was about 90 here. Plus it's an airshow, so there were a lot of veterans and some of them were disabled along with being elderly. We saw busses and some golf carts but no one knew anything about how to get to use any of them.

Ok, so it was another $20 a piece to get in. We spent $60 and then another $6 for 2 bottles of water we needed after walking that far in the heat.

They had porta-potties, but you could only get to them after the hike, after the line to pay and after the line to get in. While there were enough of them, the problem was there was nothing provided to clean your hands afterwards. Plenty of food vendors around charging a lot of money for food that didn't seem to appetizing topped off with there was no place to sit other than some tents reserved for special folks.

We saw one pilot stun everyone but by the time he was done, I wanted to leave. The heat had gotten to me and so did everything else.

I felt as I was may pass out, so my husband took both cameras and we headed out. A woman walked right past me and stepped on my foot but just kept walking. At this point I was screaming "get me out of here" in my head. God love my husband!

We got near the exit and my husband asked a guy with a golf cart about getting a ride. He asked where we parked and we pointed near the busses we could barely see. He told us those buses were only for people who parked further away. My husband told him I felt faint and he just didn't say a word.

Well we got to the area where we parked and were really angry when a bus pulled up right where we told the other guy where we parked and he actually picked people up!

All in all, it could have been a great day if we had known what we were getting into and just stayed home.

If you plan on going tomorrow,

Bring a lot of cash! You'll need it just to park.

Leave a lot earlier than you planned on.

Bring chairs and you better bring your own shade.

Don't bring water since they won't let you in the gate with it.

Make sure you find someone with a clue what it going on so you know how to get on the damn bus and won't have to walk over a mile.

Since it will be hot, you'll need to drink a lot and that means, you guessed it, the porta potties, so make sure you have your own hand sanitizers.

Make sure you have sunscreen on since I didn't even think of it.

Remember folks, above all this may have military planes but it is a money maker for the folks putting it on.

The parking lot was still filling up while we were leaving.

Easy to tell from the few pictures I took that I was not having a good time at all!

DAV Flying High With Astronaut At Warbird

RETIRED ASTRONAUT FLIES DAV FLIGHT TEAM B-25 BEFORE AIRSHOW
Air Support.com
Kerry Ward
Date: March 13, 2015

TITUSVILLE, FL– Retired Shuttle Astronaut and former Naval Aviator headed out to the TICO Warbird Airshow grounds on Thursday-March 12 and had a rare opportunity to fly in the DAV (Disabled American Veterans) B-25 Mitchell Bomber. The B-25, “Panchito” will be on display and performing in the show March 13-15 along side the DAV Flight Team.

Representatives from the DAV will be on hand in to reach out to veterans and their families sharing their message of service and volunteerism in support of our nation’s combat-wounded men and women.

Jon McBride began his naval service in 1965 with flight training at Pensacola, Florida. After receiving his wings he was assigned to Fighter Squadron 101 (VF-101) for training in the F-4 Phantom II aircraft.

By August of 1979, McBride joined the elite ranks of the first thirty-five shuttle astronauts where he piloted STS-41G in October of 1984. Over the years, McBride has logged over 8,800 hours flying time in over 40 different kinds of aircraft, but had never previously flown a B-25.

The B-25, which gained notoriety in the famed Doolittle Raid over Tokyo, Japan 71 years ago, shares a modern-day mission with DAV -- reminding people of the sacrifices veterans make for freedom. As brave men and women return from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, the DAV’s services and advocacy are as relevant today as at any time in the nation’s history.

Disabled American Veterans, representing more than 1.2 million disabled veterans, is a non-profit organization founded in 1920 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1932. It is dedicated to one, single purpose: Fulfilling our promises to the men and women who served.

For more information about Disabled American Veterans go to www.dav.org or follow the DAV Flight Team at www.facebook.com/davflightteam, @DAVFlightTeam and/or #DAVFlightTeam.


My two cents:
I am a life member of the DAV Auxiliary and my husband is a life member of the DAV for one simple reason. They fight for all veterans!

Navy Blue Angels Cover Chicago Sky

Thousands Crowd Lakefront As Blue Angels Return To Chicago Air And Water Show
CBS Chicago
August 16, 2014

CHICAGO (CBS) — Thousands crowded Chicago’s lakefront as the U.S. Navy Blue Angels made their return to the Chicago Air and Water Show on Saturday.

WBBM’s Lisa Fielding reports Fullerton Beach was filled with a diverse group and there were many from overseas experiencing their very first airshow.

“It is pretty unique,” said Tristan from Argentina. “It is amazing. We love it.”
read more here

Blue Angels and Thunderbirds will fill sky in Florida again

Thunderbirds, Blue Angels line up air show dates in Florida
Orlando Sentinel
Richard Tribou
December 19, 2013

The skies are clearing for air shows in Florida for the upcoming year and beyond with the Air Force Thunderbirds and Navy Blue Angels nailing down dates, and the Sunshine State has a lot of stops on their tours.

Both military performance teams will make five Florida appearances in 2014, and the Blue Angels have added their 2015 dates as well, with four Florida stops planned.

One big winner in the announced dates is the Melbourne Air and Space Show, which held its inaugural event this year, despite the grounding of both headliners in 2013.

The beachside show has nailed down the Thunderbirds in October 2014 and Blue Angels in March 2015. Part of the success is due to landing Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems as a title partner of the show.

"We are pleased to have such a leading global aerospace company as our partner," said Bryan Lilley, Chairman of the National Air, Sea and Space Foundation, who organizes the event. "With the support of Northrop Grumman and commitments from both of our nation's military jet demonstration teams in 2014 and 2015, the Melbourne Air  and Space Show is poised to become one of the top aerospace shows in the nation."

The county is home to Patrick Air Force Base and is traditionally a draw for the Air Force team. The Blue Angels have not performed in Brevard since 2008 when the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex was hosting an air show.

Central Florida will get its fill of air shows in 2014 with the Thunderbirds also returning to Tampa's MacDill Air Force Base for AirFest in March and to the Wings and Waves Air Show in Daytona Beach in October. The Blue Angels will be the headliner at the massive Sun 'n Fun air show in Lakeland in April as well.

The Blue Angels will make their normal air show stops in Pensacola Beach in July, Jacksonville in October and then their homecoming finale in Pensacola come November.
read more here