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This was my second year attending Wings over Pittsburgh, an annual air show hosted by the 911th Airlift Wing each May at the Pittsburgh IAP Air Reserve Station. 

I never thought I would be an air-show-going-person.  I don't really know who I thought went to air shows, but I was sure I wasn't one of them.  Until last year when a buddy of mine, who spent some time in the Air Force, asked if I wanted to go check one out.  I accepted the invitation and ended up really enjoying myself.

Wings over Pittsburgh is free to the public.  After all, these are your
tax dollars at work and it's a huge recruiting opportunity for the
Air Force.  The air show is located at the Air Reserve base at the Pittsburgh International Airport.  Getting there isn't too hard, but parking can be a little confusing.  Just follow the signs and eventually a National Guardsmen will point you to designated parking areas where yellow school buses wait to take you to the tarmac. 

Once you arrive, you'll be patted down - don't bring any food, water, coolers, etc.  But once that's done, you're free to walk around as you please.  There are various "static" displays, parked aircraft that you can run an hand along and sometimes even walk through.  You can peek inside the cockpit of several fighter jets like the F-15, F-16 and F-18.  You can walk into the bomb bay of a B-52 or walk though the cargo hold of a C-130, C-135 or FedEx air plane. 

Overhead are plenty of live demonstrations, which is why people really go to the air show.  Most of the time it's just some single propeller airplane doing crazy tricks overhead, but ever once in a while the heavy metal music starts up as the announcer prepares you for a demonstration of a thundering fighter jet. 

This year, my whole reason for heading out to the air show was to get a peak of the F-22 in action.  This plane is very impressive.  It looks like it can pretty much do anything it wants.  It's fast, it's loud and it's sexy.  As a bonus, the demonstration comes with narration that can be, depending on who you are, comical to awe inspiring.  I think most people have seen fighter jets fly overhead, but it's not until you've seen an actual low-flying demonstration, afterburners glowing, that you can really appreciate these machines.  The F-22 alone is reason enough for heading out to the air show.

Besides the planes, there are plenty of things to keep you occupied.  There's a rock climbing wall, various simulators and PlayStation even had entire semi-trailer covered in Plasmas where you could play video games. If you get hungry, there are kiosks selling burgers, kielbasa and lemonade - pretty much the same fare that you'd find down at the point. My only complaint is the lack of shade and seating.  You can bring a chair in, but that's about it.  And the shade is pretty much limited to what you can find underneath the wing of a Stratofortress or Hercules. 

If you've never been to an air show, it's definitely going at least once.  But make sure the F-22 is going to be there.