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By red
#403649
Campers,

In about two weeks, June 23 & 24, the USAF Thunderbirds are scheduled to roar into the sky at Hill AFB, Utah. Pick a space right on the flight line, to watch the flying. Hill AFB is about one hour north of the intersection of I-80 and I-15, and just east of I-15.

https://theutahairshow.com/

Bring water, folding chair, shade and sunscreen, cameras, earplugs (especially for children).
Don't bring coolers, pets, alcohol, drugs, or weapons. Everybody enters through metal detectors.
You can buy food and drink at the show, and water is freely available.
Free admission, free parking, handicap parking, and shuttle buses.
Lots of aerobatic performers, skydiving, sailplane demo, many static-display aircraft.
The Hill Aerospace Museum is also there, good for a day-trip by itself, open all year, also free. IMHO, this museum is second only to the military aircraft museum at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio. Click on EXHIBITS on this page, to see some of the legendary aircraft there:
http://www.hill.af.mil/Home/Hill-Aerospace-Museum/
#403666
I don't know what this airshow is like, but I went to the annual (still?) airshow at Edwards AFB in CA in 1997--give or take a year or two--and it was very cool--and not just the Thunderbirds (though they were awesome of course). They had all kinds of stuff flying around there. A giant hangar had all kinds of cool stuff to look at, including well-guarded Stealth Fighters and Bombers. One sailplane. The just-about-to-be-retired SR71 made one of its last flights. Chuck Yeager opened things with a boom by doing a fly-by over the sound barrier. If all AFB airshows are that awesome, I highly second Red's recommendation. Interesting how very much higher the security procedures are post 9/11. There were essentially no security issues back then, aside from Air Force dudes with machine guns keeping people at a safe distance from the B2 and F117.
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By red
#403667
Campers,

There will be maybe a dozen civilian aerobatic aircraft tearing up the sky during the day, and sometimes a team or two. Lots of static aircraft will be displayed, both historical and in current service. Maybe you can stroll through a C-5 Galaxy. There will be fly-bys of some great aircraft, some new, some legacy. There may be a P-51 flying wingman for a F-16 Falcon; the Mustang/ Falcon flights are very popular sights here. The show starts early with RC aircraft, goes all day, and the Thunderbirds launch late in the afternoon.

Some aircraft owners offer rides, but it's not cheap. One year I met up with the B-25 Mitchell crew, and got myself a ride later from a nearby airport - expensive but memorable. We made low passes over the city, and it was amazing how many old warriors ran out into their back yards to cheer us on. These people knew our distinct sound, from miles away.

Bring sunblock, hats and UV-proof sunglasses; Utah is about a mile high, and sunlight here can be brutal. Clouds (if we have any) don't block much UV. :mrgreen: