Navy F-18 pilots to astound at Wings Over Wine Country air show

All sorts of aircraft and pilots are expected to astound and amuse at the Pacific Coast Air Museum's two-day Wings Over Wine Country show.|

People took notice when Brett Jakovich arrived in Sonoma County on Thursday.

When you fly an F/A-18 fighter jet, to make a quiet, subtle entrance isn't an option. Navy Lt. Jakovich landed his Super Hornet and said he and his fellow F/A-18 pilots, all from Naval Air Station Lemoore, look forward to showing some of what their planes can do at this weekend's air show at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport.

'We'll be going as fast as 750 miles per hour and as slow as 115,' said the 32-year-old native of Minnesota and veteran of combat over Iraq and Afghanistan. 'We'll be pulling a lot of Gs, going upside and making a lot of noise.'

All sorts of aircraft and pilots are expected to astound and amuse at the Pacific Coast Air Museum's two-day Wings Over Wine Country show. One of its distinctions will be what air show director Nancy Heath says is the presence of enough contemporary military jets to make other air shows pout with envy.

In addition to the F/A-18, the Navy's top fighter, there will be roaring aerobatics by the Air Force's F-22 Raptor and a Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornet. Not jet-powered but always exciting are Reno racer Vicky Benzing and her 1940 Boeing Stearman, the Air Force Wings of Blue parachuting team, the Red Stars in Cold War-era CJ-6 trainers and some beauties from World War II.

Heath said the volunteers who put on the air show are hoping members of the public will purchase tickets rather than watch from outside the airport gates because the show is hugely expensive, and without sufficient income it may become impossible to continue.

'It costs us $275,000,' she said. That entire expense is borne by the Pacific Coast Air Museum, which relies on ticket sales and concessions — including sales of the popular $5 PCAM Hotdogs — to pay the bills and, ideally, make some money for the aviation museum located at the airport.

Heath proposed that if fans of the air show do watch from home or from elsewhere outside the airport, they support PCAM by making an online donation.

She couldn't help herself from pointing out that everyone who watches remotely will miss out on attractions that include myriad aircraft displays, games for kids led by athletes from Sonoma State University, a Saturday historic visit by the Consul General of Mexico from San Francisco, the Latino Pilots Association, and all manner of food and vendor booths. Without enough community buy-in, Heath said, the annual air show's days may be numbered.

This is the first Wings Over Wine Country for Jakovich, the Navy F/A-18 pilot. He said two fighter jets from Lemoore will take turns putting on aerial demonstrations, and two more will be on the tarmac for inspection by visitors.

Jakovich said he and other pilots will fly as close to 200 feet from the ground before powering high into the sky. Currently an instructor, the pilot has landed F/A-18s on aircraft carriers 300 times, which involves going in a heartbeat from 150 mph to zero. When launched from a carrier deck, Jakovich said, one of the fighters can go from zero to 200 mph in less than two seconds.

What does the airborne naval officer like best about his job? He said an F/A-18 pilot's 'reason to exist' is to aid and defend soldiers on the ground.

'They sleep in harm's way and it's my job to make that harm go away,' Jakovich said. 'We're good at it.'

Check out a video from last year's show below:

[youtube;bRoi53V4KYQ]

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