Rhode Island National Guard Air Show 2016

The 2016 Rhode Island National Guard Open House and Air Show held on on June 11-12 was to include the USAF Thunderbirds as its main act. However due to the accident on June 2nd in which the Thunderbirds lost an aircraft, fortunately the pilot was able to eject and survived the accident, the team was put on 'stand down' and had to cancel their appearance at this airshow.

The Rhode Island air show always draws aircraft enthusiasts from around the area. From the static displays to the air show, from civilian and military performers, this show certainly has it all! Saturday was overcast with rain towards midday, when the rains started the show was stopped, only to resume on Sunday. Sunday was sunny, warm, and very windy. Winds were gusting between 18 and 23 mph, but Sunday was still the better of the two days.

This year's show was in honor of all our fallen soldiers from every military and non-military conflict. Before the show started a C-130J Super Hercules took to the sky with the USSOCOM Jump Team on board. Four more aircraft took to the sky as well, they were Mark Murphy in the P-51D Mustang "NEVER MISS", Mike Goulian in his Extra 330SC, Rob Holland in his MXS-RH, and Jeff Boerboon in the Jack Links' Extra 300L. The RI 143rd Honor Guard marched in formation to show center for the singing of the National Anthem, while the C-130J approached the field with Mike Goulian and Rob Holland flying escort. The USSOCOM Team exited the jumpship, four Para-Commandos in all, and started falling toward their Landing Zone at show center. The first Para-Commando was carrying the American Flag below him. The second Para-Commando was carrying a flag for the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). After the third and fourth Para-Commandos had touched down at show center, the C-130J flew in towards show center followed by the four other aircraft in the 'Missing Man' formation, one pulled back on the controls and presented the crowd with a fly-over honoring the fallen soldiers.
The crowd was in awe and amazement, then the National Anthem was sung by all that were in attendance. And with the conclusion of the National Anthem, the 2016 Rhode Island National Guard Open House and Air Show was underway.

The first performance was by Mike Goulian and Rob Holland flying together, these two pilots performing together was a first. It was a spectacular show, at times Mike and Rob were performing mirrored maneuvres, or flying side-by-side down the display line, with Mike flipping his aircraft upside-down. After Mike and Rob had thrilled the crowd, the next performer to take to the sky was Gregory "Wired" Coyler from Ace Maker Air Shows. Greg has flown the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star for many years, but nowadays also has a second T-33 for the Eastcoast shows. The T-33 comes from the F-80 from the Korean War era, but today Greg was showing us the grace and beauty of the jet. After a couple of photo passes, he finished his performance with a "Dirty Pass".

Next up was a display by a C-47 Skytrain from the WWII era, followed by a F4U Corsair from the Korean War era and the A-1E Skyraider from the Vietnam War era. Both belong to the Collings Foundation, the A-1E Skyraider actually being an aircraft that was stationed at the Quonset Point Base during its operational career and now resides at the Quonset Air Museum. The Collings' formation was followed by a dynamic display by Mark Murphy and the P-51D Mustang "NEVER MISS". Mark showed the crowd what the P-51D Mustang is capable of doing.

Jeff Boerboon flew two different aircraft for this year's air show. On Saturday he flew the Jack Link's Screamin' Sasquatch, a 1929 Jet Waco Biplane that is powered by both its Pratt & Whitney 985 Radial Engine as well as a General Electric CJ610 (J85) Jet Engine. The jet engine allows the Screamin' Sasquatch to accelerate in a steep climb. On Sunday Jeff flew the Jack Links' Extra 300L. More aerobatics followed with crowd favorite Mike Goulian and his Extra 330SC, as always putting on a wonderful performance and amazing the crowds.

U.S. Navy Lieutenant Scott 'MacGruber' Lindahl performed this year's U.S. Navy TAC DEMO in the F/A-18C Hornet. 'MacGruber' made several passes dedicated to the fallen Captain Jeff Kuss, opposing solo number 6 of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, who passed when his aircraft crashed on June 2, 2016, during a practice at Smyrna, Tennessee. In addition to the dedication passes that 'MacGruber' flew, his F/A-18 carries the number '6' in honor of Capt. Jeff Kuss. Lt. Lindahl was not the only performer to display the number in honor of Blue Angel #6, also Mike Goulian, Rob Holland, as well as the Darnell family on 'SHOCKWAVE' showed the '6' in honor.

This year the 143rd Rhode Island National Guard brought back their Combined Arms Demonstration, which showed how they would move into a combat area. They had UH-60 Blackhawks inserting Humvees for troops to use for exiting the area. More UH-60s carrying armed troops to secure the area landed. After the troops exited the helicopters and set up a secure perimeter, the 'Medevac' UH-60 came in to evacuate a wounded individual. A C-130J 'Super Hercules' flew into the 'Area of Operation (AO)' and dropped supplies by parachute. Next a C-130J 'Super Hercules' demonstrated a 'short field' landing to unload even more equipment for the ground troops, quickly unloaded, and just as quickly was back into the sky with a short take-off. The UH-60 Blackhawks made one more pass and set off a wall of fire (Pyrotechnics) on the far side of the runways. The crowd felt the heat from the wall of fire. And with that the 2016 Rhode Island National Guard Open House and Air Show was over.

Thank you to everyone who made this year’s show the huge success it was!

I would like to thank the 143rd Air Wing of the RI Air National Guard for hosting the Open House and Air Show, along with thanks going to Col. Peter Parente, MSgt Janeen Miller, and others members of the RI National Guard Public Affairs Office.

Report and photos by David Clifton ( view portfolio )