Show soars above Nellis on Saturday

Diana Sahagun

Friday, May 5, 2000 | 11:51 a.m.

What: Nellis Air Show

When: Saturday

Time: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Access: Use Exit 54 off Interstate 15 onto Speedway Boulevard and use Las Vegas Motor Speedway parking lot. Shuttle buses, 15 minutes apart, available from 8 a.m. until after 5 p.m. Vehicles with handicapped stickers or official base decals enter through Nellis Air Force Base main gate.

Traffic: Las Vegas Boulevard North will be one-way (northbound) from Craig Road to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and one-way (southbound) from I-15 to the speedway.

Restrictions: No weapons, pets, coolers, back packs or carry bags (with the exception of infant care bags), bicycles, skates, or skate boards will be allowed. Food and beverages may not be carried in. Numerous food and souvenir vendors will be available at the show.

Somewhere high above the Grand Canyon, an F-16 fighter jet soars smoothly, slicing through clouds that drift above the cockpit glass.

The world from this view is panoramic.

Lord of the heavens, the jet knows no bounds, twirling, lifting and gliding through the air as smooth as silk.

The speed and grandeur of the F-16 jet will be showcased at Saturday's air show at Nellis Air Force Base, where more than 200,000 people are expected to attend to witness the Thunderbirds in their F-16s, the A-10 Demonstration Team, the Canadian Skyhawks, the Toyota Air Demonstration Team and other aerial performers.

It will be the first performance by the Thunderbirds in Las Vegas since 1997, when they helped celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Air Force. The Thunderbirds canceled their show last year after the team was grounded for two months following an April 1998 "brush-by" incident at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. The incident involved two of the team's jets bumping in mid-air. There were no injuries, but performances were suspended.

Pilot Maj. Chuck Rouse, in the cockpit of his F-16, demonstrated his skills and the plane's abilities earlier this week. Flying over the Grand Canyon, he scanned the dozens of dials and meters. One thing they told him: There was an aircraft 20 miles away, at 18,000 feet.

He adjusted the jet easily by moving the control stick side to side to vary his altitude as the sound of air traffic controllers chattering filled his ears.

"Isn't it beautiful up here!" Rouse said as he flew the length of the canyon on his way to flyovers of Lake Powell and the Valley of Fire State Park before touching back down at Nellis.

Tech Sgt. Richard Covington said the Air Force stages air shows to give the public a glimpse of the planes' ability, and what the Air Force is undertaking in terms of aircraft superiority.

The last two shows at Nellis -- in 1992 and 1994 -- attracted crowds of 80,000 and 175,000. Officials are predicting Saturday's crowd could reach 250,000. That would well surpass the total for this year's NASCAR Race, which drew 130,000 fans from across the United States.

Pilots Randy Howell and Jerry Gallud, from the San Francisco area, will fly two Stoli MiGs during the show.

Howell, who is a pilot for United Airlines based at San Francisco International Airport, said he and Gallud are looking forward to taking the MiGs for a ride.

"My favorite part is probably seeing the expression on the kids' faces who look up to you and it's good to be a good role model for them," he said. "Flying just doesn't get any better than that."

Ken Gorton, an award-winning competition pilot, will perform in the custom-built Toyota AirSports Corolla demonstration aircraft. Designed exclusively for maximum performance aerobatics, the aircraft can fly straight up for more than 3,000 feet. The combination of light weight and high strength allows Gorton to roll the aircraft more than 400 degrees in one second and pull up to 10 "G's."

The force of "G's," or the weight of gravity, took its toll on Rouse on his way back from the Grand Canyon.

Drifting back to Nellis after his hour-long flight, Rouse prepared for landing, pointing out two Thunderbirds in the distance. He flew parallel to the runway, but switched to a closed pattern and spiraled into a 180-degree turn. He rolled out parallel to the runway, speeding more than 400 mph in the opposite direction. He pulled 8 "G's," meaning during those moments he weighed eight times his normal body weight.

The force makes a body feel as if all the life is being squeezed out of it, constricting and threatening to cut off breathing. In an instant, vision is blurred and a special G-suit reacts, forcing all the blood in the body back toward the heart and brain as it tries to travel toward the feet.

"It's painful even still," says Rouse, who has served in the U.S. Air Force since 1986. "The initial onset catches you off guard sometimes -- but it's almost like a rush to me."