9-11 Remembrances at Wine Country Airshow

By Hayman Tam

A piece of Ground Zero was on display next to the “First Responder” F-15 Eagle. (Hayman Tam)Close to 25,000 airshow fans came out for the Wings Over Wine Country Airshow put together by the Pacific Coast Air Museum (PCAM) in Santa Rosa, Calif.  This two-day show takes place at Charles Schulz – Sonoma County Airport (STS) and is the museum’s major fundraising event.  The cloudy skies cleared and the temperature warmed up to perfect, just right to put in earplugs and sunscreen and enjoy the festivities.

This year’s airshow honored two national occasions occurring this year, the Centennial of Naval Aviation and the 10^th Anniversary of the 9-11 attack.

The Navy theme was echoed on the ground by the museum’s F-14A Tomcat, F-16N Viper, F-5E Freedom Fighter, A-4E Skyhawk, F-8 Crusader and A-6E Intruder.  Wings of Gold took to the air in the form of flybys with several USN T-28 Trojans and a very rare C-1A Trader, a long-retired carrier onboard delivery aircraft.  The popular Greg Colyer traded his normal USAF T-33 for one with a U.S. Navy “Blue Angels” motif, exciting the crowd as the only featured jet performer, showing how nimble a fifty-plus year old jet can be.

As for the more somber of the two anniversaries, the Santa Rosa Fire Department displayed a section of steel from the ruins at Ground Zero that they were honored to receive.  Prior to the start of the airshow, the flightline was packed with first responder vehicles from local agencies to mark the occasion.  The twisted section of I-beam was displayed next to PCAM’s latest acquisition, the “First Responder” F-15A Eagle.  This aircraft was the first fighter to fly combat air patrol over the skies above New York that tragic day ten-years ago.

Eddie Andreini and his signature Super Stearman. (Hayman Tam)Guest flybys included a U-2R Dragon Lady from Beale AFB and a pair of F-15E Strike Eagles courtesy of Klamath Falls ANG in Oregon.

Solo aerobatic performances included Vicki Benzing, Tim Decker, and Eddie Andreini.  The aerobatic headliner was Kirby Chambliss, stepping in to replace the recently departed Greg Poe.  Kirby wowed the crowd in his Red Bull Edge 540, with his impressive very short field takeoff followed by an immediate vertical pull up, demonstrating why he is a two-time Red Bull Air Race champion.

The Team Rocket duo put their homebuilt Harmon Rockets through their paces, even sharing airspace with Dan Buchanan in his hang glider.  The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Bell 407, with their SWAT team dangling Kirby Chambliss races earthward in his Zivko Edge 540. (Hayman Tam)underneath like garlic bulbs on a string, sprang into action as part of an air/ground action to rescue a school bus held hostage by bad guys. 

Warbirds took turns in center stage with flybys of Nanchang CJ-6’s. The heavy iron took turns performing, starting with trainers such as T-6 Texans and Stearmans, finishing with the fighters taking to the air with a whole herd of P-51 Mustangs, a P-40 Warhawk, and a Yak-3U.  The fighters were joined by a rare flyable A-26 Invader.

Brian Sanders executed one of the most aesthetic warbirds performances ever seen with his Hawker Sea Fury.  His smoke trails looked laser-printed on the blue sky, making the others appear crayon-like in comparison.

Of the dozens of planes on static display, military jets, old and older, dominated the area. PCAM owns a large, impressive collection of jet fighters, and many were set up for open cockpit display. Vietnam veterans could appreciate classics such as the F-105 Thunderchief, F-106 Delta Dart, A-6 Intruder, A-4 Skyhawk, and F-4 Phantom.  Relatively newer jets included the F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-14 Tomcat, and AV-8 Harrier.  These, and many others, had their cockpits open for the public The local SWAT team in action with air support from the Sonoma County Sheriff. (Hayman Tam)to clamber into and pretend to be a jet pilot for a few minutes. 

Vintage warbird fans drooled over the P-63 Kingcobra that the Palm Springs Air Museum flew in only for static display.

A few current military aircraft were on static exhibit, including a Canadian CF-18 Hornet, a C-17 Globemaster III from March ARB, a CH-46 Sea Knight from Camp Pendleton and a MH-60 Seahawk from North Island NAS San Diego.

Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport is located just north of Santa Rosa, approximately 65 miles north of San Francisco.  Constructed in 1939, operations in and out of STS include air cargo, private and corporate flights, military, search and rescue, fire fighting, law The Curtiss P-40N Kittyhawk is one of approximately 25 flyable P-40s remaining. (Hayman Tam)enforcement and training.  The name was changed to Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport in March 2000 to honor Santa Rosa’s most famous resident.