Air & Sea Show

Air & Sea Show
F/A-18 Hornet flying in Ft. Lauderdale during 2016 Air Show
Frequency Annually
Location(s) Fort Lauderdale
Country United States of America
Inaugurated May 6, 1995 (1995-05-06)
Founder Mickey Markoff
Most recent May 27, 2017 (2017-05-27)
Sponsors Shell (1995-1998)
McDonald's (2002-2007)

The Air & Sea Show is an annual air show in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in which military and civilian performances take place on the four mile stretch of beach from Oakland Park to Las Olas Boulevard. The event was produced and promoted by Mickey Markoff from its inception in 1995 until late 2007. The show usually took place on the first weekend of May, and drew hundreds of thousands of people to the beach to watch.[1]

History

Since its inception in 1995, it featured many unique aircraft and display teams like the Brazilian Air Force Smoke Squadron, the Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds, the ShowCopters, the Northern Lights, an L-39 Albatros and a replica of the Fokker Dr.I painted as the Red Baron. Civilian performers included Kirby Chambliss, Ian Groom, Jim LeRoy, Wayne Handley, Freddie Cabanas, Gene Soucy, the Red Baron Pizza Squadron, the Lima Lima Flight Team, and a South African Airways Boeing 747-400 flyby. From 2001 to 2007 the Air & Sea Show occurred as an extension of Fleet Week, with appearances by many military aircraft and ships, such as the U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle in 2006, the U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor in 2007. Aerial teams such as the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds and parachute teams such as the U.S. Navy Leap Frogs, the U.S. Army Golden Knights, and the Air Force STARS were also featured. Notable performances were search and rescue demonstrations from the United States Air Force Reserve 920th Rescue Wing and the United States Coast Guard. The show was canceled in late 2007 after it was unable to find a new title sponsor after McDonald's decided it would no longer would be taking on that role.[1]

2012

The air show, then named the Lauderdale Air Show occurred for the first time on April 28–29, 2012. It featured many veteran performers who flew during the Air & Sea Show years like the United States Navy SEALs Leap Frogs parachute team and F/A-18 Hornet, the Air Force's Thunderbirds and B-1 Lancer, the United States Coast Guard Search and Rescue Demonstration, Kirby Chambliss, and Mike Wiskus. It also featured first time performers Rob Holland, Mike Goulian, the Skytypers Air Show Team, the 101st Airborne Division Screaming Eagles, the Black Diamond Jet team (consisting of 5 L-39 Albatros and one MiG-17 jets), the Red Bull Helicopter and Red Bull Air Force who performed alongside Chambliss, and flyovers of two Northrop F-5 Tigers from VFC-111 although the Sunday show was cancelled due to heavy rain.

2013

Originally, the Thunderbirds and the Navy's F/A-18 were slated to perform at the 2013 show which was on April 20–21 before sequestration grounded all military demonstration teams. The show went on regardless with civilian acts and featured the Spanish Air Force Parachute Team in their only North American event.

2014

The event was cancelled due to construction of the south runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

2015

The event was cancelled once again, this time because of reconstruction work on Florida State Road A1A.

2016

After a two-year delay, the now renamed Fort Lauderdale Air Show returned on May 7–8, 2016 in conjunction with Fleet Week at Port Everglades. It featured an all-star lineup that included the return of, after a ten-year absence, the Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds, the Thunderbirds, the U.S. Navy F/A-18 TAC Demo, the GEICO Skytypers, the U.S. Coast Guard rescue demonstration, Mike Wiskus, and the United States Marine Corps. AV-8B Harrier II for the first time in 12 years. Other acts that performed were, in their first appearance ever, the Royal Canadian Air Force McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet, the Breitling Jet Team, Matt Chapman in the ERAU Extra 330 and the first civilian air show performance of the U.S. Air Force's Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

2017

The Lauderdale Air Show, sponsored by South Florida Ford, returned on May 6–7, 2017 with the Snowbirds as the headline act and featured the return of Sean Tucker after 10 years as well the F-16 Viper and the F/A-18F Super Hornet after 12 and 10 years, respectively. It also featured the Special Operations Command parachute team.

2018

The 2018 show was originally headlined by the Thunderbirds but were forced to cancel after the death of Major Stephen Del Bagno, the slot pilot. The show went on with the return of Mike Wiskus, Matt Chapman, the GEICO Skytypers, the SOCOM Para-Commandos, the Coast Guard rescue demonstration and the Super Hornet. The Quicksilver P-51 and the Korean War Hero F4U Corsair made their first-ever appearance as well. The Sunday show was cut short due to rain showers.

2019

The 2019 air show is set to feature the Blue Angels for the first time in 13 years.

Successors

In 2012 a revived show started called the Fort Lauderdale Air Show.[2]

In 2017 the Air and Sea Show returned, this time at Miami Beach, Florida on Memorial Day weekend featuring an all military lineup.[3]

The 2018 show went on although some of the performers had to cancel on Saturday because of heavy rain and wind from Subtropical Storm Alberto. The sea portion of the show was cancelled on Sunday but the air show went on.

Notes

From 1995 to 1998, Shell Oil Company was the show's sponsor with McDonald's owning sponsorship from 2002 to 2007.

Currently South Florida Ford is the primary sponsor for the Fort Lauderdale Air Show and Hyundai Motor America is the current sponsor for the Air & Sea Show.

Accidents and incidents

On April 30, 2004, while practicing for the Air & Sea Show, featured performer Ian Groom died of blunt force trauma when his Sukhoi Su-31 dove into the Atlantic Ocean. Witnesses said the aircraft was in a nose-down attitude and spun into the ocean after performing a flat spin. A spokesperson of Groom's said it was likely he blacked out during the flat spin.[4][5]

References

  1. 1 2 Kaye, Ken; Yee, Ivette (December 15, 2007). "Air & Sea Show pulls out of Fort Lauderdale after losing sponsor". The Sun Sentinel. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  2. ↑ McCormick, Bernard (May 2016). "Enjoy A Brief History Of The Fort Lauderdale Air Show, As The Big Headliners Get Ready To Soar Over The Beach". Jupiter Magazine. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  3. ↑ Degnan, Susan Miller (May 26, 2017). "Air & Sea Show, military meet & greet, highlight patriotic festivities on Miami Beach". The Miami Herald. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  4. ↑ Kaye, Ken; Olmeda, Rafael; Hernandez, Jaime; Fleshler, David (May 1, 2004). "Air Show Pilot Killed". The Sun Sentinel. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  5. ↑ Phillips, Rich (May 3, 2004). "Florida air show marks aerobatic pilot's death". CNN. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
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