Everything you need to know about the Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach on May 25-26, 2019. You'll find insider tips on how to beat the crowds, where to eat around Jones Beach, photos from last year's event and more. 

Things to Do

Holidays

Memorial Day

Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach 2015

The Bethpage&nbsp;Air Show, honoring America’s military, returns this Memorial Day weekend with more breathtaking military and civilian hardware and daredevil aerobatics. But getting a sandy ringside seat by the Atlantic can be a feat unto itself — especially under sunny skies. The Thunderbirds U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron is making its seventh appearance at the annual show, demonstrating the maximum capabilities of the F-16. For the first time, three women are flying in squadron leadership positions. 
To avoid a repeat of last year’s Ocean Parkway bumper-to-bumper jam, Western Suffolk spectators should take Wantagh State Parkway to Jones Beach State Park, says George Gorman, Long Island deputy regional director of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. “Traffic was free flowing on the Wantagh and the Meadowbrook, so we are encouraging everyone to take those routes.” 
The new air show app will provide up-to-date alerts on the parking situation plus live show updates, a radio broadcast&nbsp;and links to performer social media pages. There’s even an interactive game for kids: a photo hunt challenging players to find images of items found only at the air show. Download it via AppleApp Store or Google Play. 
The Bethpage Air Show takes place 10 a.m.-3 p.m. May 25-26 at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh. 
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Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach: Must-see planes and performances

10 must-see acts at the 2019 Bethpage Air Show

Joan Gralla and Ted Phillips

Whether Memorial Day skies will be sunny and clear is one of many unknowable factors, but the list of performers for this year's Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach already is taking shape. 
The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds&nbsp;plan to return for the 16th annual show on May 25 and 26, officials said Friday. 
This will be the seventh time the Thunderbirds have headlined the show at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh, said George Gorman, deputy regional director of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. 
“We are thrilled to welcome back the United States Air Force Thunderbirds to Long Island,” Gorman said in a statement. “Since the show began in 2004, millions of air show enthusiasts have traveled near and far to help celebrate our nation’s military and the Memorial Day holiday weekend. We look forward to another spectacular show this May.” 
The Air Force’s precision flyers, whose name reflects the Native American heritage of their first home base in Arizona,&nbsp;typically alternate with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.&nbsp;The Thunderbirds&nbsp;now make their home at Nevada’s Nellis Air Force Base. 
The Navy’s aviators performed last year&nbsp;and have taken the unusual step of already committing to performing at Jones Beach for the 2020 Memorial Day weekend show, Gorman said. 
The 2019 military performers include another U.S. team:&nbsp;the Army Golden Knights parachuters. The Canadian Forces' Snowbirds are taking a break after dazzling the crowds at last year’s show.&nbsp;Though the air show is free, the usual $10 per car parking fee applies.&nbsp; 
The military views the air shows as crowd-pleasing events to raise recruiting and showcase the talent and technology they need taxpayers to keep funding, experts say, sometimes with a few assists from social media. In recent weeks the Thunderbirds have posted about organizing their hangar and shown off midair smoke plumes.&nbsp; 
Last year's show ended a day early due to rain,&nbsp;only the second time a show day had been canceled. 
This year’s show again will feature stunt pilots Lt. Col. John Klatt, Matt Chapman and Sean Tucker, who will make his first appearance flying with at least one other pilot instead of solo, officials said. The Westhampton Beach-based 106th Rescue Wing of the New York Air National Guard, the Farmingdale State College aviation team&nbsp;and the GEICO Skytypers also will take to the skies, Gorman said. 
Larry Arken, the Skytypers’ flight lead, said: “We wouldn’t miss it; it’s one of the premier shows in the country.” 
Skytypers member Ken Johansen, 52,&nbsp;of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, died a few days after last year's air show when his World War II-era plane crashed in Melville.&nbsp;Johansen lost control of the plane shortly after taking off from Republic Airport in East Farmingdale to go to a Maryland air show, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report. 
Other performers honored the former Navy pilot by flying a “Missing Man” formation, Arken said, and the team dedicated the first show it performed after the crash to Johansen. 
“We’re starting fresh,” Arken said. “He’ll always be in our hearts, no doubt about that.”

Long Island

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U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds to headline 2019 Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach

U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds to headline 2019 air show

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The Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach in Wantagh will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 28 and Sunday, May 29. This season&#39;s show will feature the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. You&rsquo;re probably aware these jets will perform stunts, but what do you know about those planes and the pilots?&nbsp;If you would like to get better acquainted with the aircraft, the fliers and the facts, you don&rsquo;t need to look to the skies. Here are some things you may not know about the Bethpage Air Show.

Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach secrets and fun facts

Grumman ties to the air show

Get to know Sean D. Tucker

Why 'Blue Angels'?

Want to be a 'Blue Angel'?

The boss of the air

You won't be the only person buying a T-shirt

More than 19,000 pounds of French fries are served

Flying in for a slice?

The Knights must 'smoke' at the beach

Saturday vs. Sunday

11 secrets of the Bethpage Air Show

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If you're planning to hit Jones Beach, consider a lunch or dinner stop at any of these eateries. All are conveniently situated off either the Meadowbrook or Wantagh, the two parkways that lead to the beach. And all will welcome you in your flip-flops, shorts and bathing suit cover-ups.

FeedMe

Shake Shack

Lobster Shack

Passione Della Cucina

Pit Stop

Bobby's Burger Palace

Pollos El Paisa

Pastrami Plus

Chicken's Road

Chicken’s Road

Restaurants on the way to Jones Beach

Great eats en route to Jones Beach

In order to pursue his vision of creating a getaway for the middle class, Robert Moses transformed bleak swampland into a splendorous park system.
 
Jones Beach State Park, which opened in 1929, served as the forefront of his dream. Today, the park stretches across nearly seven miles and receives six to eight million visitors each year.
 
Yet no matter how many times you've soaked up the sun or strolled along the boardwalk of this iconic park, there are probably still things you didn't know about Jones Beach.

News

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It's a working water tower

'The pier' is where you can find a great catch

American Indian culture was taught here

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Hidden messages at the Central Mall

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Designed for the automobile class

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Thomas Jones: whaler, soldier, privateer

Bathing cut short at the bathhouse

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Where you could get a workout

The theater's moat was covered for extra seating

Trash cans once stored fire extinguishers

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A canvas shop repairs the equipment

Secrets of Jones Beach State Park

11 secrets of Jones Beach 

Newsday reporter gets a taste of aerobatics over LI

Newsday

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Planes of all varieties were soaring across Long Island skies in the days leading up to Memorial Day for the 15th annual Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach State Park. Here are highlights of some of the eye-catching plane stunts, beachgoers and more as the Blue Angels landed on Long Island Thursday, rehearsed Friday and performed Saturday. Sunday's show was canceled because of inclement weather.

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Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach 2018 photos

See highlights from the 2018 Bethpage Air Show

Elite performers at Friday’s rehearsal for the Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach soared, tumbled, hammer-headed, rolled, dove and just basically awed their record audience.
“We will thrill you today, coming at each other at 1,000 kilometers an hour,” about 600 mph, Canadian Forces Snowbirds Lt. Michele Tremblay told reporters after a few performances. 
She referred to closing speeds; her team’s 1960s era trainer jets — with no automated systems — have a top speed of 350 mph, so two flying toward each other meet twice as fast. 
Several officials underlined Memorial Day’s somber nature.
“This is our way of saying ‘thank you,’ to all of those who were in the service,” said Wayne Horsley, Long Island regional director, state parks.
The fine weather freed the sky dancers to pull off some of their most demanding maneuvers at the practice run for the 15th annual show.
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels, the Snowbirds, the U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor, the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team, and stupendous stunt pilots — such as Sean D. Tucker, Johnny D!, Matt Chapman, and John Klatt — and others will be aloft from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday’s forecast is the more promising, though there is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, “mainly” after 3 p.m., the National Weather Service office in Upton said.
Thunderstorms, naturally, ground performers.
On Sunday, rain is likely before 3 p.m., the NWS said.
Sunday’s dim forecast may explain why 82,000 came Friday — nearly twice the 47,000 rehearsal record set in 2016 that also featured the Blue Angels, officials said.
Some fortunate folks got an even earlier preview.
On Thursday, the Blue Angels practiced over the beach for about three hours estimated George Payne, 48, of Levittown, who is working on the soon-to-open Boardwalk Cafe.
The sneak pass overs were particularly memorable.
“They would come through, the guys would be working . . . and the tools would go flying,” Payne said.
Some of the acts will be familiar, such as the show-starting SUNY Farmingdale Aviation team’s slow circle that mirrors the first-ever pilots’ flights. Some performances, including the Republic Airport-based GEICO Skytypers, are new. 
“You’ll notice, it’s a lot more personal, right in front of your face, a lot more dynamic,” said pilot Jim Record, explaining the Skytypers team felt they were spending too much time too far away.
Viewers will see “a lot more breakups and meetups, and a lot more crosses, in front of show center.”
The F-22 Raptor will be flown by Maj. Paul Lopez, call sign “Loco,” as “he’s crazy about what he does,” said Senior Airman Kaylee Dubois and Staff Sgt. Israel Davila. 
His stunts include twists and turns, some used in combat — and the tail slide, they said. 
“You’ll see him kind of float in the air; he’s actually able to go backward,” Dubois said.
And, noted Davila, thanks to the jet’s exceptional power, he can perform one of the tightest possible loops — if conditions permit. 
U.S. military jets cannot fly unless there is a minimum ceiling of 1,000 feet with visibility of at least 3 miles, said Wayne Boggs, the show’s air boss, who controls all flights.
Which of the three shows the Blue Angels perform — the high, low or flat — differs with these variables. 
Even the flat show, performed when conditions are minimal, still has plenty of rolls, crosses and passes, he said.
The main difference? “There’s just no vertical movement; everything is on a horizontal plane.” 
Only the most seasoned stunt pilots take to the air when the visibility is reduced, he added.
“We do have performers that are more comfortable performing in those parameters and some that are not.”

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Bethpage Air Show rehearsal draws tens of thousands

Bethpage Air Show rehearsal draws thousands

The rehearsal for the15th anniversary of the Bethpage Air Show this Memorial Day weekend took place at Jones Beach on Friday.


Rehearsal for the Bethpage Air Show is underway

Through azure skies, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels swooped into Republic Airport in East Farmingdale on Thursday, arriving for this weekend’s annual Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach.
Their performance often is the most popular one at the show, which this year also features vintage planes, the Canadian Forces Snowbirds and top U.S. stunt pilots.
Security again was intensified for the 15th annual show with the addition of drones, more plainclothes officers and surveillance cameras and searches of delivery trucks.
After landing, Cmdr. Eric Doyle — call sign “Popeye” after the Gene Hackman character in the “The French Connection” movie — said serving in the Navy as a Blue Angel was “the ultimate.”
The Memorial Day weekend show naturally has special significance.
“We try our best to represent all of them,” the team’s boss said, standing by his No. 1 F/A-18 Hornet. “That’s honoring the men and women currently [serving] and all of those who have gone before us and made the ultimate sacrifice.”
Doyle, whose biography lists him as a native of League City, Texas, said his 22 years of flying began with him “watching jets like this when I was 5 years old — and my dad was a pilot.”
The combat veteran, with more than 3,000 flight hours and 600 aircraft-carrier landings, said the ability to fly just 18 inches apart at hundreds of miles an hour is far from the only criteria for becoming a Blue Angel.
Discipline and a willingness to painstakingly analyze each flight — and accept criticism — are crucial.
“Some flights don’t go as well as we want them to. The only way to get better is to highlight your mistakes — we don’t pull any punches.”
How many spectators turn out — and which highly hazardous aerobatics are performed — hinges on the weather.
Saturday might be the most promising; clouds, showers and possibly thunderstorms could appear “mainly” after 2 p.m., according to the National Weather Service office in Upton.
On Sunday, showers and thunderstorms are “likely,” it said.
The air show runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days.
Although thunderstorms would ground the Blue Angels, the level of visibility determines which of three shows they perform.
The high show, which requires clear skies, is the most demanding and can include a fleur de lis and line abreast loops, with five jets in a row, experts said.
Even the low and flat shows, however, when the cloud cover is lower, can offer crowd favorites such as diamond rolls, sneak passes and opposing horizontal rolls.
Doyle was unfazed.
“In the few air shows this season, we’ve seen the predictions have been for really bad weather; at the end of the day, we do a high show.” 
If clouds do roll in, “We can put on different versions of the show, I wouldn’t say it degrades the show,” he said.
He and Maj. Denis Bandet, the Snowbirds team lead, agreed there are pluses and minuses to flying over Jones Beach.
The Blue Angels perform in a 5-mile circle, half of which will be over the Atlantic, Doyle said. Both aviators agreed the air over water can be quite smooth.
“The challenge is with the depth perception,” Bandet said. 
For reference points, pilots rely on boats, white caps — and sometimes even look at the shore, he said.
Doyle also noted flights over water can be trickier: “You can’t use a wave as a checkpoint.”
When Bandet first flew at the Bethpage Air Show in 2012, he was on a wing. Focusing on the CT-114 Tutor jet next to him deprived him of taking in the park’s full panorama.
As the Snowbirds boss in his second stint, he now flies first. “Today was the first time I got to see the vastness of the beach,” Bandet said. “It’s phenomenal, what a beautiful area.” 
Jones Beach has another benefit. Huge throngs can stretch out along 6.5 miles of shore. Said Doyle: “You have a limitless crowd line — that’s motivating.”

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U.S. Navy Blue Angels arrive for Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach

Sign of summer: Blue Angels arrive for air show

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels swooped into Republic Airport in East Farmingdale Thursday morning to prepare for this weekend's annual Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach. 


Blue Angels arrive for Bethpage Air Show

Sean D. Tucker, a world-famous aerobatic pilot whose expertise and advice were essential in making the Bethpage Air Show a success, will retire this year after decades of battling Earth’s gravity. 
But not for long. And only as a solo performer.
“I love the work more than ever,” said Tucker on Wednesday, days before the 15th annual Memorial Day weekend show at Jones Beach, during an interview at Republic Airport in East Farmingdale. “But my gut tells me it’s time to move on.”
So he is creating a formation flying team.
Tucker, 66, hopes to form a five-pilot team, which will fly “Maseratis of the Sky” — $500,000 GameBird planes.
His new venture will pair him with “like-minded people who are passionate about flight,” he said, and who also view aerial ballet as poetry.
“This is one part of my journey as an aviator and a performer that I haven’t really completed yet,” said Tucker, who was accompanied Wednesday by his well-trained 11-month-old dog, a vizsla named Levi.
At the end of the air show season, Tucker will retire his bright red custom $600,000 Oracle Challenger biplane, which is designed for his stunts, including a forward flip, up to 10 backward flips and the steepest of dives — sometimes tail-down. 
“I am a sky dancer,” Tucker said. 
Tucker’s love for extreme performance has spurred him to embrace a punishing fitness regimen to counter as many G forces as a jet fighter pilot, often without the gravity-fighting suits they wear to avoid blacking out.
One example? Two hours on a stair climber with a 35-pound pack. Three times a week.
“You’re forced to have that discipline,” said Tucker, who flew in his first show in 1976. 
“This is pretty dangerous work. If you don’t really put your time in, you’re going to die,” said Tucker, who has jumped out of three planes to avoid death or injury.
The cost Tucker pays to keep gravity at bay includes torn ligaments in his right wrist that require him to perform in a brace. He also has had to undergo lots of physical therapy and chiropractor adjustments to deal with the damage his neck has suffered.His payoff is incalculable. Though he might fly like a superhero now, he candidly admitted it wasn’t always easy.
“This is such a privilege for me, this is living a dream — after I conquered my fear of flying,” Tucker said.
George Gorman, Long Island deputy regional director for the state parks department, called Tucker “a tremendous partner and friend” to the air show since it began in 2003.
Tucker advised hiring a leading announcer and one of the best “air bosses” to direct pilots, as well as upgrading the public address system. He also counseled organizers on which performers to select.
Tucker recommended a helicopter shuttle to keep the performers on time, Gorman said, and “reviewed all of the logistics of our air show to ensure that it is top of the line.”
“He ensured that we would develop into a highly regarded air show,” Gorman said.
Holding the show on Memorial Day — and with no fee other than for parking — is important for Tucker, an honorary member of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, U.S. Navy Blue Angels, Royal Canadian Snowbirds, Brazilian Air Force Smoke Squadron and the U.S. Army Golden Knights.
“This is the people’s show for everybody on Long Island,” he said.
“Memorial Day, it’s a very special time, honoring all our service members, why we are Americans,” Tucker said. “It’s the start of summer, and you just get to see all those people having a good time.”
Tucker, who was named one of 25 Living Legends of Flight by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, chairs the nonprofit Bob Hoover Academy and the EAA Young Eagles, which aim to inspire underserved youth by demonstrating the miracle of flight and helping them make better decisions.
At the start, sometimes, he said, “The kids won’t even look you in the eye.”
But, he added, “Once they [realize they] can dream for the first time, they are never going back.”

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Bethpage Air Show pilot Sean Tucker ready for his second act

Bethpage Air Show pilot ready for his second act

Sean D. Tucker, a legendary aerobatic stunt pilot, on Wednesday talked about his love of flying before his final solo performance at the annual Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach State Park on Memorial Day weekend. 


Flying with Sean D. Tucker before the Jones Beach air show

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John Valenti

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels and its North American counterpart, the Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds, are among an all-star lineup of aerobatic teams to perform this Memorial Day weekend at the 15th annual Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach.
The state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation on Thursday announced the performers at “Long Island’s Greatest Show.” This year’s edition is scheduled to take place between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on May 26 and 27. 
The Blue Angels fly state of the art F/A-18 Hornets, while the Snowbirds fly Canadian training legends CT-114 Tutors.
The show will also feature performances by the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team; pilot Sean Tucker in his custom-built Oracle Challenger II biplane, aerobatic pilot Matt Chapman; the John Klatt Airshows / Jack Link’s Screamin’ Sasquatch Jet Waco Aerobatic Team; the GEICO Skytypers and their vintage World War II aircraft and flybys by the World War II-era B-17 bomber Yankee Lady and a Hercules HC-130. 
Attendees can also expect an appearance by an F-22 Raptor, the newest addition to the U.S. Air Force inventory of fighter aircraft, and a flyby by the SUNY Farmingdale State College Flying Rams in seven of their 22 college-owned planes.
State parks deputy regional director George Gorman said the show features “a remarkable lineup,” while Linda Armyn, senior vice president of corporate affairs for the Bethpage Federal Credit Union, which is the main sponsor, said the show “has become a celebrated Long Island tradition.”
“We are all privileged to be able to continue to honor our nation’s military by bringing many of the world’s best military and civilian performers together for a show of this magnitude,” Armyn said.
The Bethpage Air Show is free to the public, with a standard $10 vehicle use fee to be collected for entrance to Jones Beach. Attendees can also use their 2018 NYS Empire Passport, which can be obtained for a one-time fee of $80.
For more information of the 2018 show, go to <a href="http://bethpageairshow.com/">www.bethpageairshow.com</a> or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BethpageAirShow/">www.facebook.com/BethpageAirShow/</a>. Attendees can also call the regional office of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation at 631-321-3510.

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State: Blue Angels to headline Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach

State: Blue Angels to headline Bethpage Air Show

Blue Angels

Want to avoid gridlock before and after the Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach? Here are some strategies for dodging people and parking woes: 
1. PICK A SPOT Consider watching from fields 1, 2 and 6, or field 5 on Zach's Bay, all away from the bustle of the Central Mall. 
2. ON THE WATER For those with boats, the show can be viewed from Zach's Bay&nbsp;or from the ocean. However, there are restrictions as to where in the ocean the show can be watched. 
3. GO BY BIKE Dodge the parking jams entirely by cycling the Jones Beach Bikeway right down to the show. If you don’t have your own, rent via Long Island Bicycle Tours -- $40 includes bike with a basket, helmet and lock. Reservations required (631-824-3360). 
4. TRY YOUR LUCK It's an open secret: Many air show performers do practice runs over Jones Beach from noon to 5 p.m. Friday. It could be a good excuse to hit the beach early and get your Memorial Day weekend started.

Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach insider tips to beat the crowds, more

Stunt pilot Sean D. Tucker gives Newsday a tour of his plane

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Foot traffic on the boardwalk halted. Thousands of spectators craned their necks to catch a glimpse.
The Air Force Thunderbirds, soaring wingtip to wingtip, were making another dazzling pass, awing the festive crowd packing Jones Beach.
“They were amazing,” Jamel DeRose of the Bronx said after the daring Saturday afternoon maneuver. “I had to take a video to send to my friends in the Caribbean.”
Perhaps the only hitch at the 14th annual Bethpage Air Show was the increasingly overcast sky, but that didn’t stop the show — just spurred some of the pilots to make adjustments.
Because the cloud cover kept the Thunderbirds from performing some of their gravity-defying loops, the team added an extra “sneak pass” over the crowd, said one of the pilots, Levittown native Lt. Col. Kevin Walsh.
Walsh said the pilot making the low-flying pass has a simple goal: “Scare everybody.”
During their show-closing performance, the Thunderbirds’ F-16 Fighting Falcons, grouped tightly together, screeched over the beach park’s water tower to the ocean. Two of the jets then raced head-on toward each other, rolling away at the last possible moment.
In another highlight, the six jets flew upward, wings inches apart, before suddenly breaking apart in a starburst pattern.
Every performer will be back Sunday for the final day of the free show, held from noon to 5 p.m. The roster includes the Army Golden Knights parachute team, GEICO Skytypers, American Airpower Museum Warbirds and a number of acclaimed stunt pilots.
“The crowd who came out today received the performance of a lifetime,” said George Gorman, Long Island deputy regional director for state parks.
Attendance was estimated at 126,000, down from last year’s capacity first-day crowd of 192,000, when the weather was deemed perfect.
There were no arrests or disturbances reported, Gorman said.
Security checks, tightened after Monday’s deadly suicide attack in Manchester, England, went smoothly Saturday, officials said.
Extra security measures included more State Police troopers and park police, and private security guards to screen backpacks. Surveillance cameras were added in the park and along the parkways, and new concrete barriers guarded some entrances.
During their performance, the Golden Knights parachutists reached speeds topping 100 mph before weaving in and out and around each other. They landed gracefully on the beach, leaving only trails of red smoke in the air.
Afterward, one team member reflected on the holiday the show honors.
“The toughest part to Memorial Day is remembering all the soldiers and their sacrifices,” said Alex Bahry, 29, originally of Belarus.
The show paid tribute to the holiday in other ways.
Thunderbirds jet No. 1 bore the name of Army Sgt. Anthony L. Mangano, 36, of Greenlawn, who was killed in a 2008 ambush in Afghanistan.
And a 90-year-old Navy veteran who served in World War II, Bob Fritts of Manorville, flew a biplane during the show as part of the Bayport Aerodrome Society. 
John Sibley, 50, was concerned about a possible rain shower, but decided to risk a trip to the beach as a special treat for his father, Corydon Sibley, 87, of Freeport.
“My dad wanted to see the show,” said John Sibley of Nesconsett. “He used to fly a plane in his earlier days, and he’s always loved planes.”
Adolfo Menjivar, 50, of Bethpage, a self-described “aviation fanatic,” said he’s come to every Jones Beach air show. 
When the sun fell behind clouds, casting a chill, Menjivar shrugged it off.
“I’d rather take an air show with clouds than no air show because of a cancellation,” he said. “Every year the people expect more and more, but it’s hard to top it. I love it.”
His son, Logan, 10, was just as enthusiastic after watching the performances.
“It was good,” he said. “I liked the stunts.”

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Bethpage Air Show dazzles crowds at Jones Beach

Bethpage Air Show 2017 dazzles crowds at Jones Beach

Army Golden Knights touch down at Jones Beach

Planes of all varieties are soaring across Long Island skies through Memorial Day weekend for the 14th annual Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach State Park. Here are highlights of some of the eye-catching plane stunts, beachgoers and more.

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Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach 2017 photos

See highlights from the 2017 Bethpage Air Show

Sunny skies at Friday’s rehearsal for the Bethpage Air Show freed stunt pilots from having to throttle back. 
If the weather continues to cooperate Saturday and Sunday, spectators at Jones Beach are in for some dazzling aerial artistry.
So far, the forecast only calls for a small chance of rain during the 14th annual show, which runs from noon to 5 p.m. both days.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the free show, headlined by the Air Force Thunderbirds, who fly their F-16 Fighting Falcons at supersonic speed.
This year’s pilot team includes Levittown native Lt. Col. Kevin Walsh in his first performance at the beach where he summered as a child.
Thunderbirds jet No. 1 will bear the name of Army Sgt. Anthony L. Mangano, 36, of Greenlawn, who was killed in a 2008 ambush in Afghanistan.
“Part of what we do this weekend is honor our veterans and our fallen heroes. ... The military is the backbone of our country,” said George Gorman, Long Island deputy regional director for state parks.
Air show security, which has steadily increased over the years, was further strengthened after the suicide bombing in Manchester, England, earlier this week. Extra state troopers and park police were assigned to the event, along with additional private security guards to screen backpacks and picnic baskets. 
Some people might have to clear security twice because there are new checkpoints at the park’s East and West Bathhouses, officials said. Numerous surveillance cameras have been installed not just in the park, but on the parkways as well.
Spectators are advised to arrive early, because parking lots could fill by 11 a.m.
Shortly after the Farmingdale State College Aviation team starts the show by flying an oval around the beach, the Army Golden Knights parachute team will “jump the flag,” landing a parachutist with the American flag attached to his back on an “X” on the beach while the national anthem is played. 
Other performers then will take to the skies, including the GEICO Skytypers, American Airpower Museum Warbirds and acclaimed stunt pilots.
Saturday and Sunday should be partly sunny, with highs of about 67 degrees, though there is a 20 percent chance of showers Saturday after 1 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Upton. 
On hand for Friday’s rehearsal, Jessica and Hank Deegan of Mineola were delighted by the soaring fighter jets.
Said Jessica Deegan, 40: “They go by and then there’s a pause before you hear the sonic boom.”

See more coverage of the 2019, 2018 shows

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