Wings Over Houston celebrates 40 years of showcasing aviation, from WWII warbirds to Blue Angels

By Tank Parrish, Hull-Daisetta High School student and aspiring pilot

This year marked the 40th anniversary of the Wings Over Houston Airshow, located at Joint Reserve Base Ellington in Houston, Texas, full of fun flying and astounding static displays, with everything from numerous Cessna 172 Skyhawks to a Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy.

However, there wasn’t just aircraft at Wings Over Houston. There were Remote Control (RC) aircraft and even a rocket launch demonstrated by Hardin-Jefferson High School and Anahuac High School, narrated by Joyce Abbey and Tina Ly, a senior at Anahuac High School and Team Lead of the Anahuac/Hardin-Jefferson Goddard Rocket Team.

With a day full of spectacular performances, it was difficult to be bored, especially with historical re-enactments from the Commemorative Air Force and the Vietnam War and TORA! TORA! TORA! These display teams included aircraft such as multiple T-6 Texans, a P-40 Warhawk, B-25 Mitchell Bombers, CH-46 Sea Knights, and an OH-1 Cobra, with “blasts” from the past like an F-100 Super Sabre, A-4 Skyhawk, and many more. 

The performances, however, were not based around old aircraft alone. Modern-day fighter aircraft were also featured, such as the United States Air Force’s F-16 Viper Demonstration Team and the United States Navy Blue Angels. 

All 150,000 attendees (as reported by the Wings Over Houston committee) witnessed history as they watched the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus, a militarized Boeing 767-200 fit for aerial refueling, perform its very first demonstration at an airshow. Attendees also had the opportunity to walk through the largest aircraft owned and operated by the United States Air Force: the Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy.

There were also special appearances as static displays from aircraft such as a NASA Northrop T-38A, WB-57 Canberra, United States Army AH-64 Apache, and Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk. 

For the opening ceremonies, the RE/MAX Skydiving team leaped gracefully from a McDonnell Douglas C-47 aircraft, escorted by two “Next Gen Eagles” (Christen Eagles). Once they jumped from the aircraft, at roughly 5,000 feet, the National Anthem began to play. The Christen Eagles circled around the jumpers, creating a scene reminiscent of slow motion in a movie. 

Finally, there were other exciting displays, such as the United States Coast Guard displaying the capabilities of the MH-65E Dolphin, A-1D Skyraider, T-28 Trojan, and other powerful aircraft, including one of the superior dogfighting aircraft of World War II, the North American P-51D Mustang, which flew in formation with the F-16 Viper Demo Team for the “Heritage Flight.”