HILL AIR FORCE BASE — If you're into aviation or just want to see some good, old-fashioned American firepower, Hill Air Force Base is the place to be June 10 and 11.
You can even see the good, new-fashioned stuff — like a Stealth fighter — and an F-22 Raptor, the next generation fighter plane, at the base's 2006 Air Show.
Besides the 100 planes or so that will be parked on the tarmac for the public to see and touch, about 50 planes will take to the skies.
"I would like to invite our community folks out to something fun," said Col. Scott Chambers, commander of the 75th Air Base Wing at Hill.
The free event is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first time the Air Force's team of crack demonstration pilots, the Thunderbirds, came to Hill Air Force Base. Back in 1956, they flew the F-100 Super Saber. They now fly F-16 Fighting Falcons. In their signature diamond formation, they fly an average of 18 inches to 3 feet apart.
Air show organizers expect thousands of people to attend. Because the show is being held at Hill, certain items are prohibited on the base. A list of those items can be found at www.hill.af.mil. Any confiscated items will be destroyed, said Jennifer Moore, the base's community-relations chief.
Gates open at 9 a.m. on June 10 and 10 a.m. on June 11. Gates close both days at 5 p.m.
E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com