The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Cleveland National Air Show wows the crowds
With dazzling demos, displays, Cleveland National Air Show continues NEO Labor Day Weekend tradition
The Cleveland National Air Show offered personal glimpses inside rare birds, as well as organized air flights.
They came, they saw, they (happily) craned their necks.
As per usual the anticipated annual turnout, over 100,000 visitors attended the annual Cleveland National Air Show Sept. 1, gasping in joy and amazement as a variety of different aircraft demonstrations dominated the Burke Lakefront Airport sky off the shores of Lake Erie.
A tradition held over Labor Day Weekend, the Cleveland National Air Show is one of the oldest, most established annual air shows in the country, starting with the National Air Races from 1929-1949 and continuing with the current day event from 1964 to the present.
In addition, Cleveland is one of only 15 cities in North America to host an aerial performance show of this type.
This year’s lineup includes the headlining U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, A-10C Thunderbolt II and the GEICO Skytypers Air Show Team, to name a few. And, for the first time ever in Cleveland, this year the show features an Air Force F-35 Lightning II demo. Vintage warplanes are also on display, including a B25D Mitchell Bomber and B-17 Flying Fortress.
The perennial air party continues through Sept. 2.
Returning for the first time in nearly 20 years are the Skytypers, a civilian flight squadron based in Long Island, New York, comprised of 12 pilots who fly vintage pre-WWII-era aircraft, performing an 18-minute low-level, precision-flying demonstration and showcasing many of the maneuvers and tactics taught to military aviators.
The aerobatic squad is one of a few organizations in the world that can generate giant sky-typed messages, visible for 15 miles, by flying in a tight, wingtip-towing-tip line-abreast formation and coordinating dot matrix-style patterned messages with environmentally-friendly puffs of white smoke.
Known as the “world’s largest text messages,” skytyping is 17 times faster than skywriting and produces a letter every four seconds. The letters can equal the height of the Empire State Building — 1,000 feet-plus — and messages can span up to 8 miles in length.
In 2016, the team received the Art Scholl Showmanship Award, one of the highest honors in the air show industry.
“We are excited to reveal this season’s 20-maneuver demonstration,” said Larry Arken, squadron commander and team flight lead. “Air show attendees will see first-hand what these ‘warbirds’ are made of.”
According to Jim Record, advance pilot and ground operations officer, the Skytypers fly six North American SNJ-2s, the Navy’s equivalent of the Texas T-6. Both trainer aircraft were used to prepare pilots of “The Greatest Generation” for combat. The Skytypers’ demo was designed by team members who served in the United States military.
“In 1940-41, the SNJ was built as an advanced military training aircraft,” said Record, a U.S. Navy veteran and original member of the Skytypers, joining in 1992. “Every pilot had to checkride, then went to their specific planes before ‘getting their wings.’ Wherever you see a military pilot, it’s really significant, and most of our pilots are ex-military. It’s a fraternity, in a way. Aviators are aviators, no matter what, whether they’re 20 or 90. It’s just what we do.”
After leaving the Navy, Record flew corporate jets before becoming a commercial airline pilot. He flew the Douglas DC9, Boeing 757, 747-400 and Airbus A-330 worldwide for 30 years before retiring.
To date, the Skytypers continue to keep busy, Record added, with half of its 2020 schedule already booked.
“We do about 15 to 16 shows a year,” he said. “We generally don’t go farther west than the Mississippi (River), but have gone as far as Oshkosh (Wisconsin), and to the east, Maine and New Hampshire. We usually start in Florida in March and end up back there in November during the season. That’s how it is.”
The Skytypers’ return to Burke triggers nostalgia for Record, who acknowledged the old-school Great Lakes Aircraft Co. which operated from 1929 to 1935, primarily manufacturing military aircraft, including Navy torpedo planes.
“Cleveland has such a rich aviation history and normally, we don’t do every show, but what a great show it is,” he said. “It’s one of the oldest and most impressive (shows) in the country. We’re thrilled to be back.”