Fort Wayne Air National Guard Base, Ind. -- FORT WAYNE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Ind. (June 11, 2019) –Approximately 51,000 people attended a free public air show June 8 to 9 here on the flight line.
The Fort Wayne Air Show featured an aerial show by the Thunderbirds, the United States Air Force precision-flying demonstration team and an aerial parachute demonstration from the US Special Operations Command Para-commandos (SOCOM).
The 122nd Fighter Wing here displayed its flying heritage with a lineage flight that included an F-86 Sabre, an F-100 Super Sabre, a P-51 Mustang, an F-16 Fighting Falcon and an A-10C Thunderbolt II. A realistic rescue of a downed Airman was performed by the 122nd Blacksnakes Combat Search and Rescue team.
Other highlights included aerial performances by award winning air show pilot Skip Stewart, brothers Billy and David Werth, Kent Pietsch and Nathan Hammond. On the ground the Shockwave jet truck roared with flames and smoke, strong man Mark Kirsch pulled an A-10 and the Ladies of Liberty sang patriotic salutes.
Aircraft on static display were an A-10C Thunderbolt II, a F-16 Fighting Falcon, a B-52 Stratofortress, a T-6 Texan II, a C-130 Hercules, a C-17 Globemaster III, a KC-135 Stratotanker, a T-28 Trojan, a T-34 Mentor, a T-38A/C Talon, a OH-58 Kiowa, a UH-60 Blackhawk, a B-17 Flying Fortress and a Boeing 757.
“I think the turnout was the very best to date,” said Chief Master Sgt. James E. Salway, Assistant Director of the Fort Wayne Air Show. “I think it’s great for us to allow the Northeast Indiana and Northwest Ohio community to come into our fence line and see what we do. We are one of Indiana’s best kept secrets.”