A variety of activities were held in conjunction with the Hill Air Force Base Open House and Air Show, one of only three such premiere events to be held by the Air Force in 2009.
SpouseBUZZ Live
SpouseBUZZ Live precedes Air Force Week Salt Lake City as more than 300 military spouses convened at the Davis Conference Center from military installations from as far away as Germany to attend the SpouseBUZZ Live event May 30. The all-day event, hosted by the 75th Air Base Wing's Airman and Family Readiness Center and Military.com's affiliate, SpouseBUZZ.com, allowed military spouses to gather resources from the many exhibits scattered about the conference center and voice their struggles and tips for other spouses via the open-forum moderated by the SpouseBUZZ.com blog authors.
Opening ceremony
A ceremony held on the steps of the Utah Capitol Building on June 1 declared June 1-7 as Air Force Week Salt Lake City via a proclamation signed by state and Air Force officials. The week, themed "Showcasing America's Airmen," allowed local community members to learn more about the Air Force through free events and exhibits at various locations along the Wasatch Front, with the Hill Air Force Base Open House and Air Show providing the culminating event.
Airman's Opener
The Salt Lake Bees beat the Reno Angels, 6-5, at home in the Spring Mobile Ballpark on June 1. The game, a tribute to military personnel, helped to kick off Air Force Week Salt Lake City as a two-run homer brought the Bees their victory in sixth inning action.
Air Force Recruiters and the U.S. Air Force Academy Wings of Blue Parachute Team added special emphasis as parachute members glided into the ballpark and special tactics recruiters rappelled down the front faÃßade of the ballpark to open the game. Gen. Donald Hoffman, commander of the Air Force Materiel Command, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Salt Lake Bees infielder Adam Pavkovich.
Our Nation's Defenders Showcase
Pioneer Park, located in downtown Salt Lake City, hosted exhibits from various military branches from around the United States. The exhibits were showcased June 1-3 and included the Air Force monster truck, "Afterburner," an F-16 Fighting Falcon painted in the U.S. Air Force Thunderbird theme and the sounds of the United States Air Force Band, Max Impact.
Art Exhibit
The Salt Lake City Public Library with its high glass ceilings, steadfast beams of light and architecture by Moshe Safdie and Associates was the perfect showcase for the 14 pieces of art selected to travel to Salt Lake City from Washington, D.C., where the complete Air Force Collection is housed.
Among the works on display were some by Hill Air Force Base 309th Maintenance Support Squadron member, Richard "Buz" Sawyer. Retired from the Air Force three years earlier, Sawyer talked about his passion for drawing aircraft and future projects.
The art works were displayed all week, June 1-5.
Air Force Academy Falcon
The Colorado Springs Air Force Academy brought its mascot falcon, Havoc, to various schools along the Wasatch Front during Air Force Week Salt Lake City. The academy led the falcon presentation with a demonstration from its drill team. The purpose of both demonstrations was to educate school children about both falcons and the Air Force.
Hometown Hero flight
Second-grade teacher, Megan Funk, was selected as a Hometown Hero, a program ran by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, for service to her community and was rewarded with a flight in a Thunderbird F-16 Fighting Falcon on June 4. After training and medical screening, Funk was escorted by Lt. Col. Derek Routt, Thunderbird No. 7, in an hour-long flight. Funk said her favorite part of the flight was the takeoff, where she "went straight up to 17,500 feet. Then we did some different rolls, and then my stomach said, 'That's enough!'" When asked if she would want to fly in an F-16 again, Funk said she would, as long as she didn't have to do the barrel rolls.
Paper Airplane Contest
Several of Hill Air Force Base's own demonstrated their abilities to build and fly paper airplanes in a contest open to all at the Salt Lake City Public Library on June 3.
While aerodynamics played a role, aim was also important as some of the entries strayed from their appointed targets and instead headed down the elevator shaft nearby or downstairs to a nearby art exhibit.
The reigning champion at Hill AFB, Jerome Jenkins, 538th Aircraft Sustainment Squadron and his wife, Angela, each took awards in the adult divisions of the competition. Jerome's plane flew the farthest, and Angela's had the longest hang-time.
A few of the younger competitors gave some stiff competition. Michael Starrett, whose mother, Beth Starrett, is a Scientific and Technical Information officer at the Ogden Air Logistics Center, walked off with a large paper airplane kit for his winning division performance in the competition.
'Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag'
At the Clark Planetarium, Lt. Cols. Brad Lyons and Buster Delmonte and Capt. Monessa Catuncan, of the 34th Fighter Squadron, addressed the crowd about their roles as fighter pilots. The captain, as one of the few women fighter pilots, said she wasn't treated any differently than one of the guys. The pilots encouraged all present to continue to learn about the Air Force and presented the film, "Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag," to the full house.
After the film, the pilots were on-hand for questions from children and others about the presentation and the Air Force in general.
Due to the popularity of the June 2 event, additional showings were added at the planetarium. The film was also shown June 4-5 at Thanksgiving Point.
Lunch with Leo
On June 3, a group of interested participants gathered in Salt Lake City on The Leonardo's fourth floor to hear the latest on the use of synthetic fuels by the Air Force.
Col. Jack Kelley, Ogden Air Logistics Center mobilization assistant to the commander, and Dr. Jeffrey Muhs, Utah State University Energy Lab executive director, talked about possible future technological applications including the possible use of algae-based fuels, a renewable resource, and the current use of coal-based synthetic jet fuel which meets most of the requirements of the Air Force except carries a substantially larger carbon footprint than fossil fuels.
Rob Simmons, a fossil fuel employee with the Utah Science and Technology Research Initiative, or USTAR, pointed out some of the complexities involved in moving from fossil fuel to other technologies.
The Lunch with Leo quarterly lunchtime discussions bring together local researchers, business and opinion leaders, policy makers and public administrators.
Musical events
The Air Force Academy Concert Band, the Falconnaires, the U.S. Air Force ensemble band, Max Impact, and Tops in Blue, a premier touring musical entertainment group composed of active duty Air Force members were separately featured in a series of concerts at various venues throughout the area as far south as Eagle Mountain and as far north as Ogden. The concerts were well-received and mostly standing room only. Lunchtime venues, while receiving lighter attendance, carried the Air Force message to those present with enthusiasm and reached out to passers-by with serenades and some sidewalk performances.
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir combined with the U.S. Air Force Reserve Band gave a concert prior to the week's events and on June 4 presented a salute to the Air Force in conjunction with the Orchestra at Temple Square.
Tops in Blue performed at the Open House and Air Show and some of its members toured Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City on June 5. The Tops in Blue members sang impromptu renditions of their repertoire to various patients including a last minute request for a birthday song. A music therapist, who accompanied the group through the hospital pointed out the therapeutic benefits later to the entertainers and highlighted the qualifications and the need for trained music therapists in such settings.
Other Tops in Blue members performed the same day at the George H. Wahlen Veterans Hospital in Salt Lake City in a more traditional group setting.
Hill AFB Open House and Air Show
The 2009 Hill Air Force Base Open House and Air Show, held June 6-7, drew 290,000 spectators at the Saturday open house and about half that amount on Sunday, due to inclement weather. The theme, "Past, present and future," featured aircraft from all eras, military forces and civilian aerobatic planes. Hill's own civilian, David Erickson, of the 517th Software Maintenance Squadron, provided aerobatic demonstrations in his De Haviland Super Chipmunk and the Viper West F-16 Demonstration Team got to provide its high energy show in its own hometown. There were approximately 100 different aircraft on static display and many interactive expos to entertain guests.
Web site
A Web site was set up in April to promote Air Force Week Salt Lake City by Staff Sgt. Jason Burton, of the 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs office, who added extra features with Macromedia Flash. Rhonda Elmore set up the basic framework of the site. The Web site, http://www.airforceweek.af.mil/, gave specific times, dates and places for anticipated events.
Phone hotlines were also made available.
Web site gallery
A Web site was set up some time later after the week of events to allow access to photos taken by Hill Air Force Base Multimedia photographers. The photos are available for viewing and download at www.hill.af.mil/photos/mediagallery.asp?galleryID=7184&page=1.
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