Air show delights local children

Red skies: Colonel Jack E. Wilhite (USAF Ret.) from Broomfield, Colo. streaks past the crowd in his Chinese MIG-17 on Thursday afternoon at the Gallup Annual Air Show. The MIG-17 is best known for being flown by the Vietnamese in the Vietnam War. [Photo by Matt Hinshaw/Independent]

By Leslie Wood
Staff writer

Gerald Morgan, his niece Tanelle Dodson, 5, and his mother Nellie Morgan all from Pinedale walk through and admire the inside of a CV-22 Osprey on Thursday morning before the start of the Gallup Annual Air Show. [Photo by Matt Hinshaw/Independent]

GALLUP — Three-year-old Head Start pupils from Zuni traveled to Gallup to see a form of transportation they see little of in the small reservation town.

“They rarely see airplanes where we’re from,” teacher Veronica Waseta said.

The youngsters traveled hand in hand with teachers and volunteers from the school as they walked along the runway of the annual Gallup Air Show at the Municipal Airport with freebies, including paper airplane models, in tow.

Teachers selected the field trip for its “hands on experience,” which includes tours of almost a dozen unique aircraft.

Vallei Ondelacy, a 3-year-old pupil, spoke little, but was quickly able to point out her favorite airplane featured at the show — a red MiG-17.

The airplane’s pilot, Col. Jack Whilite, has more than 55 years of experience as a fighter pilot and said he enjoys sharing his knowledge with children.

“I always like to talk to kids, of course, and get them excited about flying,” Whilite said.

The displayed aircraft included a 1942 Stearman, a Black Hawk helicopter and a CV-22 Osprey.

However, the most anticipated event of the day was the air show scheduled for noon.

Rafaelita Brown said her 4-year-old son, Logan, is most looking forward to seeing the airplanes in action. The Air National Guard also ran two F-16 fighter planes through Gallup, which got everybody in town looking up and oohing and aahing.

Brown and several other Fort Wingate residents traveled to Gallup to attend Thursday’s show.

They also enjoyed the show’s planetarium that was set up in one of the airport’s hangers by employees for the New Mexico Space Museum.

“It was awesome, but it takes a little while for your eyes to get used to it,” Brown said.

George Kozeliski, a volunteer for the event, said attendance levels are down from last year’s show, despite the improved weather conditions.

“We’ve had fewer middle school and junior high students this year,” Kozeliski said.

Admission was free, but donations were accepted to offset some of the costs. The air show was sponsored by the city of Gallup and local businesses.