PLANS FOR 2020 TAKING FLIGHT
Air Show guide to high-flying stunts, parking, tickets, livestream
Daredevil pilots in the sky will thunder and barrel-roll over Fort Lauderdale beach during this weekend’ s 2020 Fort Lauderdale Air Show— and you can catch every highflying stunt without leaving your home.
For the first time in Air Show history the aviation spectacle, returning Nov. 21-22, will present every death-defying demo from elite fighter jets and military-grade seaplanes over livestream. (Air Show brass bumped the bash from May to November due to the pandemic.)
“It’s the difference between watching the football game on TV instead of seeing it live,” says Bryan Lilley, Fort Lauderdale Air Show’s organizer. “Plenty of folks will be happy just to see it on livestream from their backyards.”
Lilley describes Air Show’s free livestream at Air. Show — to keep that football metaphor going — as “like watching with
NFL Sunday Ticket.” Viewers can toggle among multiple video feeds covering Show Center (the coastline where A1A meets Sunrise Boulevard), the narrator’s broadcast stage, the narrator’s audio commentary, and the flight line at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, where aircraft are grounded pres how. Or viewers can watch prerecorded livestreams of recent Air Show stops in New York, Orlando and Ocean City, Md.
“Normally viewers never get to watch aircraft taking off from the airport. And who’s ever heard the Air Boss talking to the pilots?” Lilley says. “So many Air Shows have been canceled this year that this allows anyone in the world to watch.”
Headlining this weekend’s bill of fancy flying will be four U.S. Air Force fighter-jet teams— the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II, F-16 Viper and A-10 Thunderbolt II. (Original headliners the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds scrapped their flyover because their seasonal touring schedule ended in October.)
It’s probably the only time four Air Force aircraft will perform together simultaneously, Lilley says. Typically these fighter-jet teams perform separately, but all four teams were available because COVID-19 grounded Air Shows this summer and fall, he says.
“It’s the only year you’ll see this happen,” Lilley says. “I’m stoked to see them in their Delta formation during the heritage flight, when they’re in the sky with a F-22 Raptor and a P-51 Mustang.”
Here’s everything else you should expect fromthis weekend’s free aerial fun.
What’s your price for flight?
The Air Show, as always, is free to spectators and over livestream, but if you must gawk from A1A, know that VIP pampering is available to those who splurge. Drop Zone Beach — a paid viewing area on the shore between Sunrise Boulevard and Northeast 14th Court — will cost $29.75 online in advance, and $40 at the gate, and include an event program and access to portable restrooms. Gates open at 9 a.m. There’s also Flight Live Club VIP ($199$265 for adults, $169 ages 12 and under), which includes a personal beach tent, catered lunch, restrooms and reserved parking.
Prefer an aerial view? The Air Show is offering a VIP penthouse ($399-$499) beginning at 10 a.m. on the 10th floor rooftop balcony of the Pelican Grand (2000 N. Ocean Blvd.), which includes an air-conditioned ballroom, food stations and light bites, valet parking and open bar.
Also new: “Sand Boxes” ($259-$349), private areas in designated boxes on the beach sand where families can sit socially distanced.
Or — hear us out — save somemone y by firing up the livestream from the luxurious comfort of your bathtub.
Finally, those who already bought VIP passes for the Penthouse, Flight LineClub and Drop Zone Beach can use them now or save it for May 8-9, 2021, when the
U.S. Navy Blue Angels are set to headline the 2021Fort Lauderdale Air Show.
Meet the wings
The Air Show’s shuffle from spring to fall has shrunk this year’s roster of thrill-seeking pilots. There will be nine performers altogether, including a Lucas Oil Pitts aerobatic biplane piloted by Mike Wiskus and a U.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue Demo. Performances begin 11:30 a.m. each day. Here are more highlights:
U.S. Air Force fighter-jet teams: The F-22 Raptor, so named for its compact, sleek frame, should pull high-Gforce combat maneuvers during its demo. The F-35 Lightning II, a single-engine
stealth fighter, is used by three branches of the U.S. military and can pull short takeoffs and vertical landings. The compact predator in the sky known as the F-16 Viper (look for the snake skin paint job) will pull aerial stunts, while the A-10 Thunderbolt II, a singleseat straight-wing aircraft, is armed with a seven-barrel rotary cannon that can fire 3,900 armor-piercing shells perminute.
All four aircraft will also partake in an Air Force Heritage Flight demo, flying in a Delta pattern with an F-22 Raptor and a Korean War-era P-51Mustang.
C-17 Globemaster III Demo: At 174 feet long and with a wingspan of 170 feet, this cargo aircraft hogs plenty of airspace, but
it’s capable of airdropping 102 paratroopers and their equipment.
Geico Skytypers: Always an Air Show crowd-pleaser for their white-smoke skywriting and aerobatic loops, six vintage SNJ-2 WWII era aircraft will execute aerial maneuvers in tandem.
United States Special Operations Command Parachute Team: Better known as the Para-Commandos, these paratroopers are composed of volunteers from every military branch.
Ms. Geico vs. the Skytyper: Which is faster, a World War II-era SNJ-2 vintage aircraft or a speedboat? Answer: It depend son the surf and wind speed. The Geico Skytypers, always an Air Show crowd-pleaser for their white-smoke skywriting and aerobatic loops, will send one of their WWII aircrafts to face off against Miss Geico, a 47-foot catamaran.
L-39 Cold War Era Jet Demo: The high-performance, sleek Aero L-39 Albatross jet trainer, still going strong since first being introduced in 1968, will be piloted by civilian Scott Farnsworth.
COVID-19 upgrades
There aremany. The festival is reducing the number of tickets available to each public and VIP area to curb the spread of coronavirus. Tickets must be purchased online; no passes willbe sold at the gate. More entrances have been added, as has contactless ticket scanning, portable hand sanitizers and hand-washing stations. Masks are required whenever spectators aren’ t seated.
Parking and road closures
No surprise here, but State Road A1A will be closed between Sunrise Boulevard and Northeast 19th Court from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 21-22, so expect traffic to move at a glacial pace near Sunrise.
Luckily, there are roughly 40 public parking lots, garages and metered spaces near the beach between Oakland Park Boulevard and Southeast 17th Street, at $1-$3 per hour.
Food and drink/ What you should bring
Food and drink concessionaires will return, and will accept both cash and credit. Bring essentials such as masks and sanitizer, backpacks (there’s a security inspection upon entry), coolers (also checked), beach chairs, umbrellas and sunscreen. Cameras are also allowed. Don’t bring personal tents or awnings, barbecue grills or outside alcohol.