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Scramble 467
American air shows always feature a fair amount of warbirds. Immaculate B-17G 44-83514 ended its career as a DB-17G in 1959. (Luke, 18 March
2018, Björn van der Flier)
F-16DM of 310th FS, coded LF:
88-0161, 88-0162, 88-0163, 88-0175, 89-2159
89-2164, 89-2179, 90-0778, 90-0793
F-16C of 425th FS, coded LF:
97-0113, 97-0120, 97-0121, 94-0273
F-16D of 425th FS, coded LF:
94-0281, 94-0282, 96-5034
F-35A of 56th FW, no units noted, coded LF:
10-5009, 10-5010, 11-5035, 11-5036, 11-5037, 11-5038
11-5040, 12-5048, 12-5049, 12-5054, 15-5123, 15-5125
15-5127, 15-5129, 15-5146, 15-5161, 15-5164
Sunsheds/Main ramp towards static:
A35-003 F-35A 61st FS $
A35-004, A35-005 F-35A 61st FS
MM7334/32-03 F-35A 13 º Gruppo
MM7335/32-04 F-35A 13 º Gruppo
5088, 5110, 5145 F-35A 62nd FS
5146, 5147 F-35A 62nd FS
11-5030/LF F-35A 61st FS ’61 FS’
F-35A of 56th FW, no units noted, coded LF:
09-5006, 11-5035, 12-5042, 12-5043, 12-5044
12-5045, 12-5046, 12-5055, 12-5059
Flying only:
09-6209 MC-130J 415th SOS
90-26227/DR HH-60G 305th RQS AFRC
Luke Day 2018 caused some rescheduling by a lot of people by
changing their show date to a week later. This change was to
do with the fact that the USAF Thunderbirds were not ready
to perform at that date. Luckily the US Navy Blue Angels had
a gap in their schedule following the cancelation of the Davis
Monthan AFB (AZ) airshow.
As credited media Scramble was allowed to enter the show-
grounds just after sunrise, at 7am. This gave us about two
hours to walk across the static displays without any crowds.
The static was parked across Luke major platform/flightline
at the south-end of the base. Most aircraft had only a thin
rope around the aircraft to mark their spot, while others
were tucked away in the sunsheds, All which makes taking
photos very difficult. Butt being early gave us the opportu-
nity to make some descent photos.
Security at the end of the static display was quite tight, as
soon as you pointed your camera to the flightlines of oper-
ational aircraft, you were summoned to take it away. The
funny part was, that while you took a binocular, there was
an issue.
The flying display started towards the end of the morning,
and started with the USAF parachute team, and the National
Anthem. Unfortunately on Sunday, things went wrong as one
of the jumpers failed to correctly attach the flag to his suit,
and the start and stripes fell to the earth. The flying display
started slow with many small prop aircraft and a glider, and
the quite impressive display of aircraft and pyrotechnics
of Tora-Tora-Tora It was only after noon when the real jet
power started and some disappointments.
While Luke is a large airbase with over a hundred Jets, only
2 F-16s and 1 F-35 took off on Sunday, while the Saturday it
were 2 F-35s. The aircraft took off from the far runway, as the
spectators were placed next to the nearest runway(03R-21L)
making it logical due noise concerns. The assault demo was
nice and some fast passes were made by the jets. A MC-130J
flying out Phoenix Goodyear airport supported with para-
troopers. After the display the jets again landed on the far
runway, and disappeared into the flightlines, in my opinion
they should have landed, taxied passed the crowds for some
interaction with that crowd, something that did not happen.After this display it was again some small props and a Bo105
from Red Bull. Followed by a P-51C mustang and CT-133.
When the A-10 display went up into the sky for their display
(after absence for a couple of years) the sun was in such posi-
tion that good photography was mere impossible. The A-10
was followed by the Heritage flight with the F-22 flying out
of MCAS Yuma. The show was wrapped by a stunning display
of the US Navy Blue angels.
We would like to thank the Luke POA for offering us the
media access and good care for the 2018 Luke days.Credits: Patrick Dirksen, MAR, Scramble Messageboard.