Air Show flies into Ocean City with military might and stunts

By Hunter Hine Staff Writer

(June 9, 2023) The 16th annual OC Air Show will be soaring into the resort’s air space Saturday and Sunday (with some practice runs likely on Friday) with squadrons of advanced aircraft, vintage planes and aerial stunt teams.

“We have a heavy military flavor with the USAF Thunderbirds, F-35 Lightning II Demo Team, F-18 Rhino Demo Team and the A-10 Thunderbolt II,” said Chris Dirato, director of public relations for the air show.

Along with those shows, there is the Air Force Heritage Flight, where modern and historic military aircrafts fly in close formation, and the Navy Legacy Flight, which follows the same premise.

Also on the schedule this year is the E-2C Hawkeye, a communications plane that carries a large rotating radar dome, and the cold-war era L-39 jet.

Viewers can also expect to see a

UH-72A Lakota helicopter, a C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane, the West Point Parachute Team and Red Bull Air Force’s wingsuit-wearing adrenaline junkies.

“It’s a patriotic and family-friendly event. There’s no better combination,” Dirato said.

On both days, opening ceremonies will run from 11:30 a.m. to noon, the bulk of flight performances run from noon to 2:30 p.m., and the headlining Air Force Thunderbirds run from 2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

With all the skyward commotion, the air show has an official “Air Boss” who controls whatever planes are in the sky at any given time.

“The military teams will be based at NASA Wallops for the weekend, while the rest of the performers will be based at Ocean City Airport,” Dirato said.

Although the show can be seen around Ocean City, especially on the Boardwalk, the beach and any high

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