Psst!! Guess Who May Be Coming To Oregon…

One of the neatest experiences I can remember is “Blue Angels Weekend”, in the middle of July, in Pensacola Beach, Florida.

To sum it up;

It’s the Blue Angels, for free, in the summer on a huge beach with 80,000 of your (new) closest friends.

It is truly an incredible scene, especially when those blue F-18’s get going.

You can’t help but become a kid again.

Check this out:

I am reminded of this by the Oregon Air National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing, based at Kingsley Field (southeast Oregon), and its plan for the Sentry Eagle open house event.

Sentry Eagle is one of the Air National Guard’s largest air-to-air exercises.  It gives U.S. Active Duty, Reserve, and National Guard pilots a chance to test their flying skills.

These crack pilots will basically go through a three day crash course in “Top Gun” style air-to-air combat flight training (also known as dogfighting).

During the exercises in July, 2020, there will be dozens of aircraft playing a wide variety of different war games.  The newest generation jet fighters (F-35’s, F-22’s) will be joined by some of the older standard U.S. military aircraft like the F-15 and F-16.

As I mentioned, there will be an open house with static aircraft displays, etc.  There will also be some high flying stunt pilots.  That will be Saturday, July 18th.

Alright, so here’s the kicker.

At the very end of my chat with Sentry Eagle Project Officer Lt. Col Adam Gaudinski, I asked about whether the Blue Angels, Thunderbirds, or Golden Knights might be swinging through to fly a demonstration during the open house event.

Lt. Col. Gaudinski said this;

“We’re working with an air boss and we’re working with the Department of Defense to, hopefully, get an aerial demonstration in, which will make everyone happy.”

So…

Possibly a military flight team, for free, in the summer, in a huge desert??

I must say, it makes me imagine a July, 2020 road trip to Klamath Falls.  I’ll have to find a nice spot near the lake.