Air Show Performances Impress Mississippi Cadets

Central Mississippi Composite Squadron cadets made the 165-mile trek from Jackson to the Gulf Coast to take in Keesler Air Force Base’s Thunder over the Sound Air & Space Show, featuring a full day of attractions in the air and on the ground .

In addition to a performance by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds aerial acrobatic team, the cadets’ visit also include opportunities to to tour a hurricane hunter aircraft, sit in a U.S. Army helicopter, view a Russian MIG-17 up-close, and take a look at numerous other aircraft on display.                                             

Other highlights included performances by the U.S. Air Force Academy's Wings of Blue parachute team, consisting of academy cadets, and by Patty Wagstaff, nationally recognized female barnstormer pilot;

Also featured were Tora Tora Tora, the Commemorative Air Force's dramatic recreation of the Pearl Harbor bombing, and a B-25 flyover.

The Trojan Phlyers air team — dedicated to preserving the legacy of the North American Aviation Co.’s T-28B Trojan aircraft — drew particular attention from the Central Mississippi Composite contingent after the announcer noted one of its pilots had learned to fly as a cadet in Civil Air Patrol.

Accompanying the cadets were 1st Lt. Anita Jenkins and 2nd Lts. Steve Britton and Doris Bynum. Jenkins is the squadron’s deputy commander for cadets, Britton the communications officer, and Bynum the public affairs officer.

With the cadets marching in formation everywhere they went, an active-duty Air Force major mistook them for ROTC members and told Britton they impressed him as very professional and well-disciplined.. This provided a greater degree of safety than the normal wingman procedures.