WEEKEND AIR SHOW TO HONOR VETERANS

The Cape Girardeau Regional Air Festival will entertain crowds, pay tribute to veterans and promote aviation in the region, said the event's organizer.

"You have an air show for several reasons -- the foremost is to pay tribute to veterans that have served and died for our freedoms," said Bruce Loy, airport manager.

The show's theme is "Heroes and Legends: A Century of U.S. Air Dominance." The event begins Thursday at 8 p.m. with a veterans memorial service around the flagpole at Cape County Park North. Airplanes and displays will arrive Friday. Gates open at 10 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday.

A full schedule of events and information about demonstrations and displays is inserted into today's Southeast Missourian.

"With the show we've put together, I think we'll get good crowds," he said. Loy expects between 10,000 and 12,000 people at the airport for the show.

People go to the shows to have fun, but they also learn about aviation and what the airport has to offer. "The event has been published in all the national magazines, and I think when people come here to the festival they learn what facilities we have and what our accommodations are and that we're friendly," Loy said.

The air festival not only offers a chance to show off some of the best war planes, replicas and demonstration shows available but helps sell the airport as a great place to fly into. Often air traffic picks up after a show.

"It becomes a stopover because it's now familiar, and they enjoyed the time they had here. There are a lot of choices when you're in the air and need fuel," Loy said. "We try to make this a good memory."

For area veterans many of the planes on display or in the air this weekend should bring back memories.

Several World War II warbirds will be on display. Others will be part of a re-enactment of the bombing runs that took place during the war. The B-25, TBM Avenger, C-45 and T-28 will be on hand.

A warbird dawn patrol will take to the skies Saturday and Sunday morning just as the planes did during the war to "check the skies" and alert the community about the air show, Loy said.

"Through the demonstrations you'll be able to recall many of the worldwide military aviation events that have taken place," Loy said. "It will showcase the men and women who fought gallantly so we could enjoy freedom."

The Navy will demonstrate the F-18 Hornet fighter jet, and the Air Force will show off its F-16 Falcon. The Army Golden Knights parachute team will perform both skydiving and parachuting demonstrations.

An Air Force F-117 Stealth is scheduled to fly over the airport between 2:30 and 3 p.m. Saturday. It will pass over the crowd three times before departing. A Stealth last flew by the airport two years ago during the air show. At that time "it was so cloudy that you could barely see the bottom," Loy said.

The weather should cooperate with flight schedules. Statewide forecasts call for partly cloudy and dry conditions with highs in the 90s and lows in the 70s through Sunday.

"So far it looks gorgeous," Loy said. "We have a window of opportunity where we don't have a lot of rain, but it's warm and we trade that for the rain."

The air show is always held the weekend after July 4.

Tickets are $7 for adults and $4 for children.

Gates open each day at 10 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

Events

Thursday

8 p.m. Ceremony at Veterans Memorial at Cape County Park North.

Friday

8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aircraft arrivals.

7 p.m. Doors open for Hangar Dance.

7:15 p.m. Golden Knights jump.

8-midnight Hangar dance with music by Fanfare.

Saturday and Sunday

9 a.m. Warbird Dawn Patrol will fly over city to alert community.

10 a.m. Gates open

10 a.m.-2 p.m. Helicopter, airplane and tethered hot air balloon rides.

12:30-1:30 p.m. Experimental fly-bys

2-6 p.m. Opener -- U.S. National Anthem, Golden Knights Mass Exit

• World War I fighter demonstrations and K.C. Dawn Patrol
• Dodge Ram Jet solo run
• Air Force F-16 Fighter Jet demonstration
• 69th Battalion -- A-37 and Mohawk
• Air Force F-117 Stealth flyby (Saturday only)
• World War II Warbird re-enactment
• Jimmy Franklin biplane
• Paul Stender's Green Machine, 2,000 hp jet motorcycle
• International Formula One air race
• Jimmy Franklin Jet Wing walking act
• Dodge Ram Jet race with Jimmy Franklin
• 69th Battalion Vietnam rescue re-enactment with "wall of fire"

End of show

6-7 p.m. Helicopter, airplane and tethered hot air balloon rides

7 p.m. Gates close

Schedule is tentative and is subject to change.