Story and photography by Chris Buff

Planning an early spring airshow in Georgia is always a roll of the dice. Last year the organizers had to deal with temperatures in the 30’s and winds gusting over 25mph. This time they came up winners as the Columbus, Georgia event was greeted by clear skies and temperatures warming into the 70’s. Thousands turned out for the 12th annual Thunder In The Valley Airshow which benefits youth organizations in the Chattahoochee Valley.

World Airshow News was well represented by Terry Wood, Carl Wilcox and yours truly. In addition, frequent contributors Vance Walton, Clifford Martin and Jeff Green were on hand as well. A wide variety of static aircraft were on display ranging from the cutting edge F/A-18F Super Hornets of the West Coast Demo team to the B-25 Mitchell “Pacific Prowler”. With Fort Benning nearby, The Army brought a large selection of vehicles for the public to see, touch and crawl around in.

The U.S. Army Silver Wings parachute team opened the flying by delivering the flag and demonstrating impressive formation skydiving. The Red Eagle Air Sports team of Buck Roetman and Dan McClung displayed the precision aerobatics that have made them a fan favorite.

Kent Gorton flew an extreme aerobatic routine in his Extra 300. Gorton’s performance included the narration debut of our own Jeff Green. Gary Rower’s Stearman performance was a stirring salute to NASA and Cary “Big Dog” Fowler‘s vintage Thunderbirds themed T-33 provided a graceful demonstration of early jet technology. Neil Darnell and his “Flash Fire” Jet Truck revved up the crowd with runs in excess of 300 mph.

The U.S. Army Rangers got into the action by repelling from a Blackhawk helicopter. This proved to be a big hit with the more than 2500 soldiers attending the Sunday event. Kent Pietsch in the “Jelly Belly” Interstate Cadet, flew a well received comedy routine and later performed a tricky truck top landing.

One of the highlights of the show was the thundering demonstration by the F/A-18F Super Hornet West Coast Demo team. A tight demonstration box required a modified routine but the crew put on an exciting display of power and maneuverability.

The show concluded with the parade of warbirds including the B-25 Pacific Prowler, assorted AT-6’s, Stearmans and others.

I have read a lot of speculation about how the current economic climate would weigh on the airshow industry. Turnout for this show was very good and I hope this is an indicator of a strong 2009 airshow season.