The Sewells have a special treat in store for the club this spring. They will be taking us to the club's first official air show. And the 40th edition of the Great Tennessee Air Showhttps://event.attendstar.com/view-air-event/the-great-tennessee-air-show/ promises to be a 'Doozy'. The Sewells have made plans for the club to attend the 2011 version of the air show at the Smyrna Airport, featuring The Thunderbirds, for the first time in several years.

If you haven't seen The Thunderbirds before, they are the air demonstration squadron and aerobatic display team of the United States Air Force (USAF), based at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, Nevada. The squadron of F16C's tours the United States and much of the world, performing aerobatic formation and solo flying in specially-marked USAF jet aircraft. The name is taken from the legendary creature that appears in the mythology of several indigenous North American cultures.

Officers serve a two-year assignment with the squadron, while enlisted personnel serve three to four. Replacements must be trained for about half of the team each year, providing a constant mix of experience. The squadron performs no more than 88 precision air demonstrations each year and has never canceled a demonstration due to maintenance difficulty. They perform tightly spaced, choreographed, wing tip to wing tip maneuvers that always thrill the crowd.

Check out the Thunderbird Website and attached picture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Air_Force_Thunderbirds

The Show presents numerous other performances including the Red Thunder precision team, Gene Soucy, Teresa Stokes, Mike Goulian, Rob Holland, Jason Newberg and Cheryl Sterns, with more acts to be announced !

The day will start out at the Cracker Barrel in Murfreesboro at I-24, Exit 81B. We will be leaving the restaurant at 8:30am. Anyone wishing to have breakfast should arrive early. But Charlie will be pulling out at 8:30am. We will head out to catch some great Rutherford Co. backroads and plan on arriving at the airport at 10am. We'll park our Miatas as a group and proceed to our premium box seating along the landing strip. Would advise that stadium seats might be a comfortable addition to the bleacher type seats provided. Our reserved seats are close to all the action, including the landing strip, restrooms with short lines, a variety of food for grazing during the show, airplane exhibits. Umbrellas are not allowed in the premium seating area, so a wide brimmed hat, cash for food & beverage purchases, some sun screen and possible a poncho may be advised. Sorry, no coolers allowed.

If you are interested in participating, please RSVP Charlie atcharliesewell@blomand.net. Charlie will be accepting RSVP's by email ONLY. The sooner you RSVP and submit your check in the amount of $25.99 (per person), the greater your chance to be seated with the group. He will confirm receipt of all RSVP's. So, if you don't get a response back from him, try again. Then followup by sending your check, made out to Charlie Sewell, to 105 Deerfield Lane, McMinnville, TN 37110. Charlie will be placing a group reserved seating purchase on April 18. Any checks receive after that date may result in seats separate from the group. And tickets may be purchased on the date of the event, but remaining premium seating availability is unlikely. The show ends at 4pm, and we should be on our way home by around 4:30pm.

So, Come Join the Fun, and experience the excitement and the exhilaration of The Great Tennessee Air Show along with Charlie & Pam Sewell and 50,000 air show fans.

ZZZZZZZZZZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM !