Air Force Thunderbirds, no strangers to Long Island, back for air show

U.S. Air Force Maj. Michael Brewer knows Long Island well from above.

A member of the Air Force Thunderbirds, he's making a return trip this weekend to perform with the group at the Bethpage Air Show. But even though the pandemic canceled last year's Jones Beach show, Brewer, the rest of the Thunderbirds, and their F-16 Fighting Falcons, still made it back to the Island over the past 12 months.

"We came out here for the America Strong missions, so we flew all over Long Island and actually went to downtown New York, and down the Hudson [River] as well, really in support of our health care workers and all of our first responders," said Brewer, 37. "That was truly an honor of a lifetime to be able to do those missions."

The Thunderbirds, like other performers, organizers, and the crowds that will again gather on the beach, are preparing to expect the unexpected this weekend.

The weather is looking less than stellar with a 70% chance of rain Saturday, dropping to 50% Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

Parking fields will be at half capacity and attendees limited to the sand, not roaming the boardwalk as usual. Tickets have sold out, according to the Bethpage Air Show website. Show organizers have said they are prepared to delay the shows until the bad weather hopefully clears.

The show will also include performances by close air support attack aircraft, the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team, and the U.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue team.

The American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale will have five or six planes flown in this year’s air show, Jeff Clyman, the museum’s founder, president and executive director, has said. The planes will be flown by a mix of ex-military and civilian pilots.

The air show will begin with a practice show on Friday, but with rain in the forecast after 2 p.m., it's best to get an early start.

Assuming the rain doesn't create a two-day washout, performances on Saturday and Sunday are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A livestream of Sunday's show will be available at abc7ny.com, and it's connected TV apps on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku.

It's good to be back, Brewer said.

"Hopefully on the other side of COVID," he said, "and hopefully, life is slowly starting to return back to normal."

The Thunderbirds, based in Las Vegas, recently performed a flyover in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for the Air Force Academy graduation.

Maj. Ian Lee, 34, is new to the team. He joined the Thunderbirds less than five months ago.

"I’ve only got a handful of shows under my belt," said Lee, a native of Cerritos, California, and an Air Force F-16 pilot since 2012, "but I’m very excited to showcase what the team has been doing all of last year through COVID."