Jones Beach air show to include Blue Angels, Golden Knights

The Army's Golden Knights Parachute Team and the MV-22 Osprey, a multimission military aircraft, will join the Navy's Blue Angels at the Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach next month.

The state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation on Wednesday released the lineup for the May 24-25 event.

The Blue Angels, the Navy's elite flight demonstration squadron, will make its sixth appearance at Jones Beach.

Last year, federal budget cuts forced the cancellation of military air shows after April 1, including the Air Force Thunderbirds' appearance at Jones Beach.

Other military performers confirmed to appear this year include the Navy Leap Frogs parachute team, making its second appearance since 2007.

Several civilian performers also are scheduled, including for the first time the Screamin' Sasquatch Jack Links Jet Waco Aerobatic Team.

The team, unveiled recently in Las Vegas, features a Taperwing Jet Waco plane, an open cockpit biplane made famous by barnstormers of the 1920s and '30s. However, this one has the extra juice from a jet engine.

John Klatt, a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard who fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Jeff Boerboon, a U.S. Unlimited Aerobatics Champion, will pilot the Screamin' Sasquatch.

The MV-22 Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft with both a vertical takeoff and landing and short takeoff and landing capabilities. Its design combines the functionality of a helicopter and the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft. The Osprey is operated by pilots from the Marine Corps and Air Force.

More information is available at bethpageairshow.com, facebook.com/jonesbeachairshow or by calling 631-321-3510.