Bethpage Air Show to return with new routines, scripts, music

To the skies the pilots will go, and to the beach Long Islanders will go for the Bethpage Air Show over Memorial Day weekend, which will offer new aerobatic routines, new scripts and music — and a livestream alternative for anyone unable to attend.

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, for the first time since 1983, have re-choreographed their performance, adding new maneuvers — two of which, a heart and a low bomb burst, will remind Islanders of stunts performed by their rivals, the Royal Canadian Air Force's Snowbirds and the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.

A true Long Island superstar once built in East Farmingdale by Fairchild Republic, a U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II, also will soar aloft at the 17th annual air show at Wantagh's Jones Beach.

Aside from lots of advanced technology upgrades, "It is still exactly the same airplane that rolled off the assembly line in the late '70s and '80s," said Capt. Haden "Gator" Fullam, team commander in a telephone interview.

Also performing will be the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachutists, who can be counted on for one of the most patriotic moments, planting the American flag in the sand as they stick their landings right in front of the state park's Central Mall.

Long Island's David Windmiller, an aerobatic pilot and Bethpage regular, believes he has a brand new stunt that is so original it still lacks a formal name: "a spiraling tower was the best one I could come up with."

The maneuver, when "the airplane is basically doing somersaults over itself," is one he has worked on for a decade. "I've never seen anybody else do it; maybe I'll ask for credit."

Returning after about a decade, aerobatic pilot Mike Goulian of Plymouth, Massachusetts, noted the extraordinary discipline needed to fly so precisely and safely, likening his show to flying a "Ferrari in the sky — and the world is your stage."

The U.S. Coast Guard will demonstrate how it finds and rescues swimmers — hopefully in much, much calmer waters than the 30-foot waves they sometimes confront.

War-winning vintage planes will be flown by the American Airpower Museum Warbirds; the GEICO Skytypers will outline World War II training maneuvers with messages as tall as the Empire State Building; and the Bayport Aerodrome Society and Farmingdale State College Aviation will demonstrate some of the history of the early days of aviation.

Last year's show, like so many events, was canceled due to COVID-19, and the 2021 show has been modified. Parking fields will only fill halfway, and the attendees, instead of roaming the boardwalk, must stay on the sand.

Tickets for Friday's rehearsal and the Saturday and Sunday shows sold out swiftly; for the first time, Saturday's spectacle will be livestreamed by abc7ny.com, as well as WABC TV’s connected TV apps on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku. The livestream rain day is Sunday.

"After the year and a half we have all experienced, we are thrilled that the Bethpage Air Show is returning to Jones Beach," said George Gorman, Long Island regional director for the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. "We can feel the excitement from Long Islanders and the air show performers, more than any other year," the show founder added.

Military and civilian pilots, while noting that the show circuit is both small and full of camaraderie, extolled different aspects of their machines and performances they hope the crowds — which in previous years numbered in the hundreds of thousands — will find riveting.

The A-10 Thunderbolt II, called the Warthog as it was essentially designed as a flying tank, proved its worth by decimating armored ground forces in Mideast battles.

Unlike the Thunderbirds' F-16s, whose engines can be heard long before the jets can be seen — and which fly so fast that attendees often rely on the narrator to tell them where to look — the A-10 can stick to show center because this jet can make extremely tight turns and swoop down much lower.

"We do what we consider to be conventional aerobatic maneuvers, a lot of things you would see a civilian performer do," Capt. Fullham said, which "you wouldn't think a big, 30,000- to 40,000-pound, kind of goofy-looking airplane could do." He added: "It's a ton of fun, of course."

This season, to honor the 93 members killed or missing in action in Vietnam from the A-10's home unit, the 355th Fighter Wing, the jet was repainted with all their names.

The Thunderbirds have recreated their show, nearly halving their performance to 50 minutes, selecting new music, and devising new thrills.

One is the heart, a pattern Canada's Snowbirds are much admired for, though the U.S. team has made it their own, said pilot Maj. Kyle Oliver. "It basically takes the heart and turns it on its side; it's a cool optical maneuver for the crowd," he said, and can be done even when low clouds bar vertical stunts.

"The other highlight maneuver we are doing this show is the low bomb burst; this one we basically stole from the Blue Angels — except we execute it slightly differently," he said. Spreading out in a fan, the jets then race back: "It's going to look like you have four aircraft that all are going to run into each other at show center."

With those perfectly calculated near-misses, he said: "You've got a perfect demonstration of the trust we all have each other."

The F-16 is a veteran; the Thunderbirds began flying it in 1983. While "it has brand-new technology that pretty much makes it up to date," said Staff Sgt. Joshua Seda, keeping it flight-ready, well, "it's a humongous challenge," — and one this electrical and environmental technician finds satisfying.

Mainly responsible for oxygen systems, like the antigravity suits that keep pilots from losing consciousness during high acceleration, he added: "I enjoy actually fixing and solving an issue."

The Coast Guard team, now expected to only perform Saturday, when they fly down from Cape Cod, will demonstrate the skills needed to hover above the waves and lower a swimmer to retrieve a practice dummy. Only their arduous training makes it look easy, said Lt. Robert Turley.

"The Coast Guard bread-and-butter is going out in conditions most people don't want to fly in." He added: "I want to say it's difficult, but every pilot at the air station practices every week throughout the whole year, so we are able to make it routine."

All that dedication, drive and aptitude is a tribute to the armed forces for preserving the nation. Said Oliver, the Thunderbird pilot, "It's a great opportunity for us to reflect on the sacrifices of those who came before us."