Stuart Airshow 2023

[Ken91]

Still have more pics to go through from Sunday's show. There were several helicopters performing in the show which is always cool for me. A Huey and OH-6 were in a Vietnam downed pilot reenactment, an Airbus H-125 from the Martin County Sheriff Aviation Unit (plus Loki, the doggo), and the Red Bull BO-105 flown by Aaron Fitzgerald.

[BoundingOverwatch]

Ok, now that the picture thing was sorted out:

Caught the Growlers during practice:

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Twilight demo was my first twilight show, and it did not disappoint:

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[BoundingOverwatch]

Day show 1 was also fruitful, even if fighting backlighting:

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[BoundingOverwatch]

And finally, tried a spot away from the airfield for some better lighting...not sure it 100% worked out the way I wanted it to, but I did give some different angles (still haven't gone through all of these yet)

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[Ken91]

And finally, tried a spot away from the airfield for some better lighting...not sure it 100% worked out the way I wanted it to, but I did give some different angles (still haven't gone through all of these yet)

Where did you park offsite? Just curious. I'm not from Stuart (about 1.5 hours north), so I don't know the area except how to get to the airport.

Also, I'm glad you enjoyed the twilight/night show. I thoroughly enjoy going to them and try to go whenever I can.

[BoundingOverwatch]

Some notes for posterity (I was on the fence about attending this show, so hopefully this will aid any future attendees in their decision making process:

- There is a practice show the day of the twilight show...while not open to the public, you can use it to gauge their approaches , and by being smart with your location, can get some banking shots in good lighting. Got the Growler shots from outside the gate here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/zd5uWojuQjJeWkc7A
- The twilight show alone was worth my 8 hour both ways drive. Enough said.
- Day show schedule was slightly different for both days, if only in regards to the order of performers.
- got the second day of shots here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/TutDtAVuN6gU9eCe9 ...wouldn't trade it in for a full airshow day on the actual performer line, but it added some variety to shots. It did get crowded though, and trees blocking shots was an issue. On the other hand, if you are crazy enough to stand on top of your car, like I am you can get good shots of them either launching or recovering (or, as luck would have it since they did both on the same end of the runaway, both).
- Oh, also, the VFC-12 F/A-18 transitioned from static to launching on the second day...it did a beautiful banking pass over the crowd line, which naturally I was too far away to get a nice shot of. Something to keep in mind though in the future...it's a potential phot op for the Sunday show.
- Also also, I'm not sure why but for both this and the Pensacola show, the Viper demo flew their color bird the second day, not the first...something else to keep in mind photo op wise.

@Ken91

Where did you park offsite?

Edit: So, I parked on the sidewalk there (there must have been 50 cars doing the same and evidently the cops did not care). The YMCA did not want unwanted visitors, although in retrospect I probably could have walked to that soccer field (since I doubt they care about standing on a field) and gotten better angles. I wanted banking vapes with my back against the sun, but I was either just outside the turn radius, or they flew right above my head which lead to a unsolvable panning problem while standing atop a car... to get the pics I planned for, one would probably have to be on the south side of the airfield, and therefore either trespassing or calling in some favors to someone who works there, do to so.

[Ken91]

A few more pictures. With the exception of facing the sun all day, this is my favorite show to attend. Generally smaller crowds and a good mix of performers. Of course, I always want more warbirds.

[Ken91]

Final set. I promise.