Organizers of tomorrow's Atlantic City Airshow say they've rebounded from the forced lack of military aircraft by combing the country for new breathtaking displays in the wild blue yonder.

Geico Skytypers (Atlantic City Web Page)
Geico Skytypers (Atlantic City Web Page)
loading...

"Thunder Over The Boardwalk" is the centerpiece of a week-long series of events honoring our women and men in uniform and illustrating that the Jersey Shore excitement isn't confined to weekends, in the view of Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce President Joe Kelly.

The three-and-a-half-hour airshow starts at noon. Kelly says that it's a reminder for "...the local market, and certainly for those from outside of the state that the Shore is alive and healthy, and ready for visitors."

Airshows across the U.S. are missing military components such as the Air Force Blue Angels fighter jet formation and the Army Golden Knights parachutists, casualties of sequester-mandated spending cutbacks. Kelly says it prompted a reorientation of sorts. "We've put some of the best commercial performers in the world together for a three-and-a-half-hour show," he notes, "and we've found someone with a Harrier, to keep jets involved."

Last year, the event took place on a Friday afternoon in August and drew more than 900,000 spectators. However, says Kelly, the move to Wednesday simply returns it to its normal spot in the center of the week. "The June date certainly makes it different," Kelly says, "but it's always been by design to attract midweek business."

The Airshow and the Miss America Pageant bookend a tourism season, he says, that now extends from mid-June through September.

High-flying thrill seekers will find overhead:

  • Blimp, Helicoper and Tow-Banner Aircraft Flybys
  • World Unlimited Aerobatic Champion Rob Holland
  • The 4CE Three-Craft Aerobatic Team
  • Raiders Three-Craft Demo Team
  • Firebirds X-Treme Aerobatic Team
  • Matt Chapman CAP 580 Aerobatics
  • Jim Beasley Jr.'s Spitfire and P-51D Mustang Demonstrations
  • L-39 and YAK-9 Solo Flights and Formation Flights by Warrior Aviation
  • Dan McClung's Eagle Talon and Andrew McKenna's AT-6 Demos
  • Air Force Heritage P-51s
  • Harrier Demonstration
  • Geico Skytypers

A $20 parking fee at either the Atlantic City Expressway Intercept Lot or Bader Field includes day-long shuttle bus rides. The show is visible from anywhere on the boardwalk or beach.

More From 92.7 WOBM