The Air Force Thunderbirds, an aerial performance team, will headline the show on Aug. 16 and 17, said Staff Sgt. Randy Redman, a Thunderbirds spokesman.
Offutt officials are completing the show's full program and will announce other acts this month, said Staff Sgt. A.J. Bosker, a spokesman for Offutt's 55th Wing.
The Thunderbirds, who perform acrobatic routines in F-16 jets, last headlined Offutt's show in 2004, helping draw about 300,000 spectators to the Bellevue base.
Last edited by Brad on Thu Aug 27, 2009 2:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Daily Nonpareil wrote:Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., has been selected as one of only three American sites to host History of Air Force Week events.
They will be held at the base Aug. 9-17.
The announcement was made Monday at the base with various dignitaries present, including Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan.
Offutt will support Air Force Week in the Heartland with numerous large and small events planned throughout the week in venues spanning the entire state of Nebraska, western Iowa, southeast South Dakota and northern Kansas.
Among the highlights will be the 2008 Defenders of Freedom Open House and Air Show Aug. 16-17 at Offutt Air Force Base.
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
Thanks Icejammer. I remember reading that yesterday and forgot to say something. Pretty cool that out of all the air shows we are only 1 of 3 cities to get it and the other two are Philly and LA!
TIM ELFRINK WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER wrote:Omaha is one of three cities - the others are Philadelphia and Los Angeles - chosen by the Air Force to host a full week of free public events before its weekend air show.
Mayor Fahey was just talking about this - and he listed a wide assortment of jets (including MiGs) that will be in town, and UP will be sending a train from Cheyenne - he is expecting 500,000 this year.
I am not looking forward to this. Â A week worth of activities means we have to keep the base in tip top shape. Â I don't know about Offutt, but that usually leads to commanders deciding that we need to pick up pine cones on golf courses. Â
For the first time since 1971, there will be no air show at Offutt Air Force Base this year.
Base officials announced Wednesday that because of operating budget uncertainties tied to the federal budget sequestration, the show and open house that had been scheduled for Aug. 24-25 won't be held.
Let's be honest, this is probably an easy expense to cut. Unless ticket prices could meet or exceep the costs of the logistics, fuel, and everyone involved to put on the show, it's a huge waste.
S33 wrote:Let's be honest, this is probably an easy expense to cut. Unless ticket prices could meet or exceep the costs of the logistics, fuel, and everyone involved to put on the show, it's a huge waste.
Wasn't this a free event?
I love the people that |expletive| about it getting it cut but if they would have come out and said they can do it this year it would just be 20 bucks a person to attend they would have also bitched.
The air shows have always been free events. There haven't been shows in prior years when there was runway work being done at Offutt. Omaha will survive.
S33 wrote:Let's be honest, this is probably an easy expense to cut. Unless ticket prices could meet or exceep the costs of the logistics, fuel, and everyone involved to put on the show, it's a huge waste.
Not to mention that you're taking part of a major military installation out of service.
It is an easy one to cut obviously. Â Still sucks that it wont be happening though. Â It brings in a ton of people from out of town, I am sure hotel operators are upset.
iamjacobm wrote:It is an easy one to cut obviously. Still sucks that it wont be happening though. It brings in a ton of people from out of town, I am sure hotel operators are upset.
I'm sure the thousands of federal employees who will be furloughed because of the budget cuts are upset too.
I loved the flying demos and antique airplanes. Â What I really loved were the metaphors. Â All the mothers and children huddled beneath the sheltering wings of a B52. Â Perfect metaphor for the Cold War. Â The tarmac where master seregeants were frying brats on the east, and corporals with fully loaded weapons on the west standing behind rope fence and "live fire authorized beyond this point". Â Constant reminder of the reality of the place.
