Navy `Blue Angels' to perform at Homestead air show
Jet engines will roar this weekend in a tribute to the military and their families when Wings Over Homestead returns to the Homestead Air Reserve Base.
The event makes another comeback Saturday and Sunday after returning last year for the first time in nearly two decades. With dozens of military aircraft on display in the air and on the ground, this year's show promises the smell of jet fuel and the sound of afterburner, said Air Force Reserve Maj. Sean Carpenter. He is in charge of the flying and static displays for the show.
``I wanted to get as much stuff flying as I could. And I wanted it to be loud,'' Carpenter said.
Seventeen acts will take to the skies, including the Navy's Blue Angels flight demonstration team and the Army's Golden Knights parachute team. Carpenter promises seven hours of flight demonstrations every day, starting in the morning with a fly-by of F-16s.
``People like to see stuff they usually don't see,'' he said. ``They want to hear afterburner. They want to see really neat military planes, tight loops and steep climbs.''
There will be plenty to see on the ground, too. Dozens of aircraft, including the F-15e, F-16 and F-18 will be on display. Carpenter said the static displays are what make this airshow unique.
``You're going to able to walk beside them, and sometimes go inside them,'' he said.
While much of the action will center around the action in the sky, the real focus of the show are the people on the ground, said base spokesman Ian Carrier.
With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ongoing for almost a decade, this year's show is dedicated to military families who have been kept apart by deployments. Messages from spouses, kids and other family members will be broadcast throughout the afternoon.
``So much attention is given to the soldiers, that a lot of times people don't take the time to think that there are kids and wives and husbands left behind,'' Carrier said. ``They're making sacrifices that most people aren't asked to make.''
The show also helps remind the community the air base, which opened during World War II, is still important. The base served as a strategic post during the Cuban missile crisis in the 1960s and continued to serve an important role until Hurricane Andrew destroyed it in 1992. After almost being shut down, many in the community lost touch with the base, Carrier said.
``We're still here. And we're going to be here,'' Carrier said.
Today, the base employs 2,000 military members and hundreds of civilians, and pumps $240 million into the local economy, officials said.
``We're part of the community. We live down the street, we buy our groceries at the same store,'' Carrier said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Special Operations Command, the Coast Guard, the Army and Florida National Guard all use the base. It recently played a pivotal role in providing aid to Haiti after the tragic January earthquake there.
``We're hopefully out of the shadow of Hurricane Andrew,'' Carrier said. ``We want people to think, `Hey, that was the center of Haiti air operations.' We want people to start thinking in more positive terms.''
The event makes another comeback Saturday and Sunday after returning last year for the first time in nearly two decades. With dozens of military aircraft on display in the air and on the ground, this year's show promises the smell of jet fuel and the sound of afterburner, said Air Force Reserve Maj. Sean Carpenter. He is in charge of the flying and static displays for the show.
``I wanted to get as much stuff flying as I could. And I wanted it to be loud,'' Carpenter said.
Seventeen acts will take to the skies, including the Navy's Blue Angels flight demonstration team and the Army's Golden Knights parachute team. Carpenter promises seven hours of flight demonstrations every day, starting in the morning with a fly-by of F-16s.
``People like to see stuff they usually don't see,'' he said. ``They want to hear afterburner. They want to see really neat military planes, tight loops and steep climbs.''
There will be plenty to see on the ground, too. Dozens of aircraft, including the F-15e, F-16 and F-18 will be on display. Carpenter said the static displays are what make this airshow unique.
``You're going to able to walk beside them, and sometimes go inside them,'' he said.
While much of the action will center around the action in the sky, the real focus of the show are the people on the ground, said base spokesman Ian Carrier.
Wings Over Homestead makes a return to the Homestead Air Reserve Base this weekend.
With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ongoing for almost a decade, this year's show is dedicated to military families who have been kept apart by deployments. Messages from spouses, kids and other family members will be broadcast throughout the afternoon.
``So much attention is given to the soldiers, that a lot of times people don't take the time to think that there are kids and wives and husbands left behind,'' Carrier said. ``They're making sacrifices that most people aren't asked to make.''
The show also helps remind the community the air base, which opened during World War II, is still important. The base served as a strategic post during the Cuban missile crisis in the 1960s and continued to serve an important role until Hurricane Andrew destroyed it in 1992. After almost being shut down, many in the community lost touch with the base, Carrier said.
``We're still here. And we're going to be here,'' Carrier said.
Today, the base employs 2,000 military members and hundreds of civilians, and pumps $240 million into the local economy, officials said.
``We're part of the community. We live down the street, we buy our groceries at the same store,'' Carrier said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Special Operations Command, the Coast Guard, the Army and Florida National Guard all use the base. It recently played a pivotal role in providing aid to Haiti after the tragic January earthquake there.
``We're hopefully out of the shadow of Hurricane Andrew,'' Carrier said. ``We want people to think, `Hey, that was the center of Haiti air operations.' We want people to start thinking in more positive terms.''
Navy `Blue Angels' to perform at Homestead air show
Jet engines will roar this weekend in a tribute to the military and their families when Wings Over Homestead returns to the Homestead Air Reserve Base.
The event makes another comeback Saturday and Sunday after returning last year for the first time in nearly two decades. With dozens of military aircraft on display in the air and on the ground, this year's show promises the smell of jet fuel and the sound of afterburner, said Air Force Reserve Maj. Sean Carpenter. He is in charge of the flying and static displays for the show.
``I wanted to get as much stuff flying as I could. And I wanted it to be loud,'' Carpenter said.
Seventeen acts will take to the skies, including the Navy's Blue Angels flight demonstration team and the Army's Golden Knights parachute team. Carpenter promises seven hours of flight demonstrations every day, starting in the morning with a fly-by of F-16s.
``People like to see stuff they usually don't see,'' he said. ``They want to hear afterburner. They want to see really neat military planes, tight loops and steep climbs.''
There will be plenty to see on the ground, too. Dozens of aircraft, including the F-15e, F-16 and F-18 will be on display. Carpenter said the static displays are what make this airshow unique.
``You're going to able to walk beside them, and sometimes go inside them,'' he said.
While much of the action will center around the action in the sky, the real focus of the show are the people on the ground, said base spokesman Ian Carrier.
With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ongoing for almost a decade, this year's show is dedicated to military families who have been kept apart by deployments. Messages from spouses, kids and other family members will be broadcast throughout the afternoon.
``So much attention is given to the soldiers, that a lot of times people don't take the time to think that there are kids and wives and husbands left behind,'' Carrier said. ``They're making sacrifices that most people aren't asked to make.''
The show also helps remind the community the air base, which opened during World War II, is still important. The base served as a strategic post during the Cuban missile crisis in the 1960s and continued to serve an important role until Hurricane Andrew destroyed it in 1992. After almost being shut down, many in the community lost touch with the base, Carrier said.
``We're still here. And we're going to be here,'' Carrier said.
Today, the base employs 2,000 military members and hundreds of civilians, and pumps $240 million into the local economy, officials said.
``We're part of the community. We live down the street, we buy our groceries at the same store,'' Carrier said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Special Operations Command, the Coast Guard, the Army and Florida National Guard all use the base. It recently played a pivotal role in providing aid to Haiti after the tragic January earthquake there.
``We're hopefully out of the shadow of Hurricane Andrew,'' Carrier said. ``We want people to think, `Hey, that was the center of Haiti air operations.' We want people to start thinking in more positive terms.''
The event makes another comeback Saturday and Sunday after returning last year for the first time in nearly two decades. With dozens of military aircraft on display in the air and on the ground, this year's show promises the smell of jet fuel and the sound of afterburner, said Air Force Reserve Maj. Sean Carpenter. He is in charge of the flying and static displays for the show.
``I wanted to get as much stuff flying as I could. And I wanted it to be loud,'' Carpenter said.
Seventeen acts will take to the skies, including the Navy's Blue Angels flight demonstration team and the Army's Golden Knights parachute team. Carpenter promises seven hours of flight demonstrations every day, starting in the morning with a fly-by of F-16s.
``People like to see stuff they usually don't see,'' he said. ``They want to hear afterburner. They want to see really neat military planes, tight loops and steep climbs.''
There will be plenty to see on the ground, too. Dozens of aircraft, including the F-15e, F-16 and F-18 will be on display. Carpenter said the static displays are what make this airshow unique.
``You're going to able to walk beside them, and sometimes go inside them,'' he said.
While much of the action will center around the action in the sky, the real focus of the show are the people on the ground, said base spokesman Ian Carrier.
Wings Over Homestead makes a return to the Homestead Air Reserve Base this weekend.
With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ongoing for almost a decade, this year's show is dedicated to military families who have been kept apart by deployments. Messages from spouses, kids and other family members will be broadcast throughout the afternoon.
``So much attention is given to the soldiers, that a lot of times people don't take the time to think that there are kids and wives and husbands left behind,'' Carrier said. ``They're making sacrifices that most people aren't asked to make.''
The show also helps remind the community the air base, which opened during World War II, is still important. The base served as a strategic post during the Cuban missile crisis in the 1960s and continued to serve an important role until Hurricane Andrew destroyed it in 1992. After almost being shut down, many in the community lost touch with the base, Carrier said.
``We're still here. And we're going to be here,'' Carrier said.
Today, the base employs 2,000 military members and hundreds of civilians, and pumps $240 million into the local economy, officials said.
``We're part of the community. We live down the street, we buy our groceries at the same store,'' Carrier said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Special Operations Command, the Coast Guard, the Army and Florida National Guard all use the base. It recently played a pivotal role in providing aid to Haiti after the tragic January earthquake there.
``We're hopefully out of the shadow of Hurricane Andrew,'' Carrier said. ``We want people to think, `Hey, that was the center of Haiti air operations.' We want people to start thinking in more positive terms.''
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