Written by Randy Mays
Photographed by Carlyn McManus
In the summer, in small towns across America there is an air show somewhere every weekend where families come out to see the latest military aircraft, aerobatic planes, helicopters, and parachute jumpers. Missoula's show was scheduled on a weekend with perfect weather. Rather than write about all the different airplanes we saw, I'll just mention three special ones. The first plane didn't do any aerobatics,or drop any parachutists, or do much else other than fly down the runway a couple of times and then land. It wasn't even jet powered. It was a polished silver B-17. In World War II, the Boeing B-17 took thousands of young men from England over targets in Europe and brought most of them back. The B-17 proved what Will Rogers said many years before, "Nobody is going to take the airplane seriously until someone in an airplane drops something on them."
The second special plane wasn't fast, and it wasn't loud. It was a small black shape in the distance when we first saw it coming in for a flyby. It was odd to see this plane in the daytime at all. The Lockheed F-117 Stealth Fighter owns the night, whether over Monument Valley in training or over Bagdad when we were playing for keeps. Seeing airplanes that changed history is not a bad way to spend an afternoon.
The third plane brought back memories. Late in the day Saturday, a twin engine jet took off to perform for the crowd. As it rolled down the runway, I thought back to 1969 when I went to my first Navy assignment in Lemoore, California. The orders read "Attack Squadron 125," the west coast training squadron for the A-4 and A-7B bombers that flew off carriers and over Viet Nam. From VA-125, I and many others went to sea with fleet A-7 squadrons, and fought a war that nobody much cared about. The A-7s are retired from the fleet now. The A-7s were replaced by something new, a "strike fighter" that could change from an attack mission to fleet air defense at the flick of a switch. It was one of these new F/A-18 aircraft that took off on Saturday in Missoula. The Navy narrator mentioned the pilot's name and then said the plane was from Strike Fighter Squadron 125. I guess they had to change the squadron name because the new plane can accomplish two missions, but it will always be Attack Squadron 125 as far as I'm concerned. It was great to see a new plane and pilot carrying our traditions back into the sky.
On Sunday morning, my friend Jerry and I went to the IPSC match at Deer Creek range. In past years, I've gone into some detail about what went on at that match, but this year I think I'll let pictures tell more of the story. These pictures were taken by Carlyn McManus from Pablo, Montana.
Here's Jerry filling out the forms before his first stage.
Jerry's getting ready for his first stage, loading magazines and watching someone go through the stage.
Here I am having to shoot my Glock 20 (10mm) pistol one-handed and weak handed because of the layout of the targets. Notice the range officer holding the timer right behind me to record the shots and the time.
Paul Miner, the match director and president of the Big Sky Practical Shooting Club, is standing between Jerry and me.
Pat Johnson appears to be asking Paul Miner if he has seen her missing pistol and he appears to be saying he lost his, too. Empty holsters are a common sight among match administrators as they wait their turns to compete.
Here's an action shot where I'm firing through a port at one of many targets lined up just a few feet behind the plywood sheets. The targets with an "X" on them are "no shoots." You lose points for hitting one of those.
Dennis Sparrow,one of the senior range officers in the BSPSC, is watching as a competitor shoots one of the stages. Dennis is holding the timer and making sure the competitor doesn't violate any safety rules.
Here I am again shooting one-handed. In this stage, called "The Courier," we had a briefcase handcuffed to one wrist. This made it difficult to shoot and to reload. Just as in the movie "Pulp Fiction," the contents of the briefcase were a mystery today.
This is the third year I've been fortunate enough to compete in the Al Kimery Memorial Trophy match, and I'm already looking forward to next year's match.
For more information on IPSC matches in Missoula, take a look at the Big Sky Practical Shooting Club's Web Site. For more information on shooting sports in Montana, check out the Montana Shooting Sports Association's Web site.