Jets ready to roar at Nellis air show

You don't usually get a view like this unless you're the Taliban.

On Saturday and Sunday, more than 100 fighter planes will loop, swoop and dive over Nellis Air Force Base as part of Aviation Nation 2009.

The eighth consecutive Las Vegas air show is expected to draw more than 100,000 spectators to the base, according to a Nellis spokesman, making it the largest free public event in Nevada this year.

Queued up on the runway will be aircraft ranging in age from a World War II-era PT-17 Steerman biplane to a new F-22 fighter jet. Other notables include the A-10 Thunderbolt II, C-17 Globemaster III, the Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet and the Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16.

Of the six military flying teams, the Air Force Thunderbirds are the undisputed rock stars. This year, they're expected to steal the show again with a new maneuver, the diamond-loop takeoff, performed in four new Block 52 F-16s.

"We get airborne, retract the gear and essentially go straight into a loop and maneuver into the diamond formation," explains Lt. Col Greg Thomas, the Thunderbirds' squadron commander. "It's something the Thunderbirds have never done, and it's something that most teams can't do because they don't have the power we do." (Each Block 52 packs 29,000 pounds of thrust.)

Thomas' standard two-year Thunderbird tour, which saw 73 shows last year and 70 this year, will end with this performance.

"It's kind of bittersweet," he says. "It's good to be able to give someone else the opportunity to do this. But to be part of an organization like the Thunderbirds is a very humbling experience and opportunity, and to know that you're gonna move on is tough."

The military will be joined by three civilian acts: the Horsemen P-51 Demonstration Team, the Patriots Jet Demonstration Team and California resident Bill Reesman in his MiG-17.

Ground displays will depict the history of American aviation and America's military, and showcase several military aircraft fresh from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Food, beverages and novelties will be available for purchase.

Free round-trip shuttle bus transportation will be available to and from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The public will not otherwise be allowed entry into Nellis Air Force Base.

Contact reporter Corey Levitan at clevitan@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0456.