Thunder and Lightning over Arizona Open House

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Cheyenne Morigeau
  • 355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz --  The Thunder and Lightning over Arizona Open House was held here, April 12-13.

The event gave the base a chance to showcase aerial demonstrations, as well as give community members an opportunity to interact with D-M's Airmen.

"We invited the city of Tucson to come onto our base, so we could build trust and confidence with the American public in our ability to execute our mission," said Maj. Patrick Smiley, 357th Fighter Squadron open house director.

The base was unsure if they would be authorized to hold an open house.

"We didn't know that we would be allowed to host this event until December," Smiley said. "We had a planning team of over 130 people, and an executing team of over 1,000 people."

The planning team was comprised of directors from ground, air, emergency services and the Force Support Squadron.

"Breaking a big project into small parts was how we were able to plan and execute the event effectively," Smiley said.

The main challenge of hosting the Thunder and Lightning over Arizona event was the enormity of the task, Smiley said.

"It was really the teamwork within the wing that helped us overcome the challenge of receiving more than 60 aircraft and almost 300,000 spectators come to the base," Smiley said.

D-M's main focus during the event was to say 'thank you' for the support the local communities provide to the base throughout the year and give back to the community.

"We partnered with the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona and donated over a
ton of canned food items," Smiley said. "Over 500 wounded warriors, disabled children, elderly and veterans were brought onto the base as part of Heroes' Day, where they enjoyed a private airshow. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds were also out there to interact with the kids from the Make-a-Wish Foundation."

The safety of spectators, pilots and the local community was D-M's highest priority in executing a world class airshow.

At the same time the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds Aerial Demonstration Squadron was scheduled to perform Saturday, wind gusts reached speeds of 30 knots. The maximum wind speed allowable during and F-16 departure is 25 knots. Due to the high winds, the Thunderbirds were forced to cancel their performance.

"When you're sitting in front of 100,000 people it's hard to make that safety call. I'm proud of the city of Tucson for their level of understanding on how important it is to not push those safety limits for the sake of watching them perform," Smiley said.

Even though the Thunderbirds had to cancel their first performance, they were still able to put on a show for Tucson the following day. They performed precision aerial maneuvers, demonstrating the capabilities of Air Force high performance aircraft.

During the event, there were no force protection incidents and nothing but positive feedback from spectators and performers, which made the event an overall success, according to Smiley.