OCEAN CITY – The OC Air Show returns this weekend with a practice day on Friday followed by full performances on Saturday and Sunday beginning at noon.
The official event is centered around 17th Street with admission areas on the beach, but the performers are visible for many blocks north and south. Tickets are available for beach seating at ocairshow.com. Though the order may be altered for either day, the sequence of flight performances after the opening ceremonies, invocation and national anthem is as follows:
- L-39 Cold War Era Jet Demo: The Czechoslovakian L-39 first flew Nov. 4, 1968. Thousands remain in active service as trainers, and many are finding new homes with private warbird owners all over the world.
- Coast Guard Search and Rescue Demonstration: The demo showcases how they perform an out-the-door water rescue of a person in distress from a helicopter hovering overhead.
- B-25 Bomber “Panchito”: Used by the U.S and its allies in every theater of World War II, the B-25 came to fame on April 18, 1942 during the Doolittle Raid when Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle led 16 B-25s in a daring attack on mainland Japan, four months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
- Navy F-18F Super Hornet Demo: The F-18 Rhino Demo Team flies the F/A-18F Super Hornet in a 15-minute demonstration of the Navy’s workhorse carrier based fighter. This twin engine beast puts out 44,000 pounds of heart vibrating thrust in dynamic display of speed and maneuverability that is awe inspiring.
- C-17 Globemaster II flyover: The C-17 Globemaster III is the newest, most flexible cargo aircraft to enter the airlift force. The C-17 can take off and land on runways as short as 3,500 feet and only 90 feet wide.
- A-10 Thunderbolt II Close Air Support Demo: The A-10 Thunderbolt II, better known as the “Warthog,” is a single-pilot attack aircraft designed for short takeoffs and landings from primitive airfields. entire aircraft was largely designed around its nose gun, a 30 mm Avenger cannon. The seven-barrel rotary cannon measures nine feet long and fires 30mm armor-piercing shells at a rate of nearly 4,000 rounds per minute.
- SOCOM Para-Commandos: The United States Special Operations Command Parachute Team, known as the Para-Commandos, is composed of volunteers from the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and U.S. government civilians who are assigned to the Special Operations Command.
- Michael Goulian: One of the top aerobatic pilots in the world, he began his career in the competitive world of aerobatics, earning the distinction of becoming one of the youngest pilots to ever win the United States Unlimited Aerobatic Championship at the age of 27.
- Thunderbirds: The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds fly the F-16 Fighting Falcon and perform a combination of formation and solo maneuvers in an inspiring, patriotic, high energy demonstration. The four-jet diamond performs precision formation flight with the aircraft wingtips as close as four feet apart while performing loops, inverted rolls and even high performance turns. The two solo jets perform high energy maneuvers together and from opposite directions closing in on each other as fast as 1,000 mph. The six jets come together in the delta formation as the finale for the show.