The United States Air Force Thunderbirds will again take flight over Columbus Air Force Base in the spring air show, Lt. Col. Armand Fondren told Columbus Exchange Club members at the Lion Hills Club Thursday afternoon.
The Thunderbirds, which are considered among the most exciting acts at the biennial Wings Over Columbus air show, did not perform in 2018 due to a fatal crash that killed one of the pilots prior to the event. This year, however, the team has regrouped and is set to return, Fondren said.
But there are more things to look forward to. This year’s show, which will take place on both April 25 and 26, will include 15 performing acts both in the air and on the ground, including a jet-powered fire truck and the Para-Commandos parachute jump team, Fondren told The Dispatch. The base plans to have a total of 23 planes, including the Air Force’s own T-1, T-6 and T-38 jets, flying those two days.
The air show will also bring one of the last two flying T-37s across the country to Columbus, Fondren said. Most T-37s, which are “war birds” used as aircraft trainers in the Air Force from 1955 to 2005, have now been “sent to the boneyard and retired permanently,” he said.
“I actually grew up flying the T-37,” Fondren said, “so I’m excited to see it airborne again.”
The air show will also feature ground displays, including a virtual reality program that is used for the base’s student pilot training in T-1s, T-6s and T-38s.
“Think of the super gamer-geek setup,” Fondren said. “You’ve got two big screens in front of them so the instructor can sit and watch what they are doing and critique them.”
The VR program allows student pilots to repeatedly go over their weak spots in the training instead of completing countless cycles in the air, Fondren said.
“He can take a 15-second segment of that flight and replay it over and over again and make sure the student knows how to do it,” he said.
For safety concerns, food, water and coolers are not allowed in the air show, Fondren said, but people can bring in wagons and camp chairs. Signs will be set up at each gate to remind people of what is and is not allowed, he said.
Fondren said he expects roughly 20,000 participants at the air show each day. To improve the traffic on the base during the air show, he said the base will open up two lanes for the public to exit through the north gates.
The Air Force will cover most of the event’s cost, Fondren said, but he also hopes to raise money from local sponsors to pay for the rest of the show. The show would not be possible without collaborating with local communities, he said.
“Our past is rooted in the Columbus community,” Fondren said, “and it’s dependent on all of you for success in the future. Our mission there to train pilots, to prepare them for battle is super critical, and we can’t do that piece and we can’t showcase them here in the air show without y’all’s partnership.”
The doors will be open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on April 25 and 26. The performance will begin around 10 a.m. and will last until 4 p.m., with a potential lunch break designed during the day, Fondren said.
“Maybe we’ll put a half-hour or an hour break there in the middle, people can take a breath, go see the ground events and the static displays without missing the air show,” Fondren said.
For more information, check out the air show’s website at www.columbusairshow.com.
Yue Stella Yu was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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