Highlights of the 2008 Miramar Airshow

I really wanted to get a nice photo for you of the airshow grounds at Naval Air Station Miramar near San Diego, but these guys kept getting in the way and, to make matters worse, trailing smoke which blocked out the whole background!
 

   Luckily I was able to take down their registration numbers, so Mr Sean D. Tucker and Lieutenant Commander Craig Olsen, you'll be getting a letter soon from my lawyer!

Sometimes it was hard to escape the feeling that they were taunting me for their own amusement!

    On the bright side, literally, this year's show was blessed with mostly good weather, in contrast to the heavy overcast and occasional rain of previous years.

Several interesting aircraft came in on arrivals day, including this Jet Provost trainer still in its original Royal Air Force color scheme, though I suspect the graphic of Wile E. Coyote being sucked into the engine is a later addition.

   The Jet Provost is a particular favorite of mine because it was the basis of a ground attack aircraft called the Strikemaster, which was exported to many countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and even South America.

    They were used in combat on a number of occasions in the strike role.

    For many years New Zealand operated Strikemasters alongside their A-4 Skyhawks; the Strikemasters were painted very much like the aircraft you see here, except they had black noses to reduce glare.