Eyes on the Sky

My interest in those aircraft that fill the sky will always make me feel like a kid.

This weekend the Tucumcari Convention Center played host to the Quay County Wellness Fair.

There were several exhibits and booths to receive information and health services from. Two of the main attractions, to me, were the medical transport helicopters.

One was from the Clovis area, AeroCare, and the other was a Life Star transport from Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo. The two helicopters stuck out like jewels in the sand, one ruby red the other sapphire blue.

It's no surprise one of my favorite TV series growing up was Airwolf, a show about an advanced stealth helicopter capable of reaching Mach 1 speeds.

Over the past year there have been planes hovering over Tucumcari as part of Cannon Air Force Base's special operations mission.

We have all become used to the sound of the planes flying overhead, though when I hear the rotation of a helicopters rotor, I am quick to rush outside.

There is something that just captivates me when it comes to those wondrous flying machines. Part of my fascination may be from the fact that you can actually watch a helicopters flight a lot easier then a jet.

Commercial jets fly way too high and most of the time I just see the contrail, and trying to keep up with a fighter jet is even worse.

Growing up in Nara Visa, I got the chance to see several helicopters fly over. I always imagined what type of mission they were carrying out.

Sometimes I wished I could see a Chinook helicopter hover overhead and soldiers repelled down to the ground.

Be it a Blackhawk , Bell 222A, Chinook, Agusta Bell 212 Huey or a CV-22 Bell Osprey that wonderful chopping sound as they fly over is always welcomed.

(Thomas Garcia is the senior writer at the Quay County Sun. Contact him at [email protected])