First Charleston Harbor Air Show

The rattling, the windows shaking, the unfounded fear of potential sonic boom - everyone in the downtown area has endured the screaming engines of the Navy's elite, Blue Angels, for four days now. All of this high turbo, F-18 action above us was all in preparation for the first ever Charleston Harbor Air Show.

In an apparent move to add some flare to the annual Navy Week held in Charleston, while mollifying those dissatisfied with the earlier cancellation of the air show typically held at the air force base, our city teamed up with the Town of Mt. Pleasant. Charleston and Mt. Pleasant, which lie on either side of Charleston Harbor, dually invited the Angels to use the harbor airspace for a spectacular finish to the week's militaristic celebrations.

Bringing in six F-18s and a C130, the Angels spent Thursday and Friday practicing for the show. From our windows many of us watched the military craft roll and tumble each day in preparation for their Saturday and Sunday performances. Work was impossible as the roaring jets sped around above us. Personally, I was involved in a conversation with a neighbor at one point. Needless to say we gave up. Even shouting at one another was useless as the jets circled above. We both put our hands up and went inside to escape the deafening sounds of the engines.

Sunday being the last day, and the weather being perfect, we decided to slip out and have a photo shoot. Some of the tricks were astounding.