This is my 4th time at the Miramar base, but the 3rd “Miramar Airshow” specifically.
B-52H Stratofortress, Photo credit: a passionate airshow participant
I was asked at the airshow, “Is this your first time here?” I stumbled through my words since everything feels like more than “10 years ago” and all memories are blended by now.
I was here in 2009, 2011, and 2012, and it was the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation in February of 2011. I have been waiting so long since the pandemic halted activities for the past two years. The pink wrist band for observation deck chalet
I got observation deck chalet access with water dispenser access and the separated portable restrooms this time. The chalet section was shaded under the tent. There were around 20 rows of seats and a large opening area directly under the sun in front of the tent section. This provides the flexibility to hop outside for the airshow and hide back under the shade as needed.
One new thing to me is the reinforcement of the clear bag policy which became more strict in details since the COVID-19 year in 2020, such as what personal bags no longer allowed, and what are the acceptable clear bag maximum sizes. Therefore, I prepared a 5 dollars cash to purchase a Miramar Airshow clear bag (orange-red strip in the photo) before entering the venue. As we know, we rarely use cash ever since the pandemic!
Here is the plan. I decided to only grab one lens with my DSLR, without the camera bag, plus a ziplock with some essentials, just to keep it simple. I put the ziplock into the clear bag once I got it at the entrance.
The airshow is amazing and as always! Vicky Benzing demonstrated her flight skills in all kinds of ways, and she has a phD in chemistry! The photograph with a red plane was her performance that I filmed, and it reminds me of the inverted Jenny (from the stamp history that was printed upside down).
And I did not forget to visit the NASA vendor booth saying hello to the JPL people and took/stole some more NASA stickers for my project students since I ran out of them from my stash. I also need more ACME stickers!
Vicky Benzing, a woman pilot/instructor (Left) NASA booth visit (Right), Photo credit: YCC
I noticed a huge difference from this visit compared to my past visits 10+ years ago. Not only am I able to capture every word from the vocal/broadcast person in the airshow, so I can hold my camera chasing in the right direction, but also see the whole event with better clarity, which is the main growth from my own professional development and also from the perspective of recognizing diversity business in the society. A very simple example is that the airshow printed brochure shows a slightly different schedule than the one online, and it is actually slightly different on the day, which in short, in my words is “it is normal.” with meanings behind and understanding.
Here are some photos that I took.
F/A-18 Blue Angeles photographed by YCC
My Boeing 777 engine earrings with C-5 Super Galaxy, Photo credit: YCC selfie
F-35A Lightning, Photo credit: a passionate airshow participant
At the end of the day, I visited the White Lab for a pint of beer with their special house yeast and enjoyed the first time Napali cuisine for dinner. I did get a distinct tan line from standing outside watching the airshow and taking photos – It is a happiness tan!
今年對我來說的新鮮事，就是他們強制執行入場能帶的東西。clear bag policy透明包包安全規範 打從９１１後一直都隱隱約約的存在，但是從COVID-19開始，能帶的貼身小包細節，還有透明袋子的尺寸都開始變得絕對明確（通常是球賽和航空秀的場合）。因此，我口袋準備好了五元現金鈔票，在入場安檢前，買了Miramar航空秀的透明袋（照片裡橘紅色的提把），畢竟疫情開始之後，我就幾乎沒有使用過現鈔了！
Here is the plan. I decided to only grab one lens with my DSLR, without the camera bag, plus a ziplock with some essentials, just to keep it simple. I put the ziplock into the clear bag once I got it at the entrance.
