Participants
Military Demonstrations
Indiana Air National Guard F-16 Show Opening Fly-by
Returning in 2009 to open the Indianapolis Air Show will be F-16s from your Indiana Air National Guard from the 122nd Fighter Wing in Ft. Wayne. Flying the F-16, officially nicknamed “The Fighting Falcon” but known to all who fly and work on it as “The Viper”, the aircraft will make their appearance right after the singing of the National Anthem. Be sure to arrive on time so you have an opportunity to watch this small, versatile, and Mach 2 capable fighter start the flying for this year’s show.
U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team
Returning to the Indianapolis Air Show for the first time in several years, The U.S. Army Golden Knights will again demonstrate their ability to perform precise freefall and parachute maneuvers in the sky, and yet land at Air Show Center every time.
In 1959 13 men joined together to form the Strategic Army Corps Sport Parachute Team, to compete in the then communist dominated sport of skydiving. The team performed so well that on June 1, 1961 the Army officially recognized, designated and activated the team as the U.S. Army Parachute Team.
For more than 44 years the “Golden Knights” have been wowing audiences at air shows, competitions and most recently, with high profile tandems.
The two demonstration teams travel all over the country performing aerial demonstrations at air shows and special events in support of Army recruiting goals.
The two competition teams travel, competing nationally and internationally at various skydiving competitions, continuously bringing home gold, silver and bronze medals. They are the most successful U.S. Department of Defense sports team.
While the Tandem Team focuses on bringing the public closer to the Army and the sport of skydiving.
“The Tandem Team enables the Army to reach out to influential citizens and give them a taste of the professionalism, leadership and teamwork that is involved in giving them a tandem,” said Lt. Colonel Anthony Dill, Commander, U.S. Army Parachute Team, “Golden Knights.”
The Golden Knights not only perform at air shows, compete on an international level and perform high profile tandems they also visit high schools and work with local recruiters showing young adults what type of opportunities the Army has for them.
Learn more about the Golden Knights.
U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command East Coast A-10 Demo Team
The first Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II came off the assembly line in 1975 and when production ended in 1984 a total of 713 had been built. Originally designed to destroy tanks and other armored vehicles if the Warsaw Pact was to invade Western Europe, the mission of the A-10 was thought to be obsolete when the Cold War came to end in the late 1980’s and the threat of an invasion was no longer imminent. The United States Air Force began to reduce the number of operational A-10s with the intent of eliminating it completely from the inventory and replacing it with F-16s for ground attack.
Then the first Iraqi War arrived and with it a golden opportunity for the A-10 to prove itself. When the Thunderbolt II finally got into combat, it destroyed 900 tanks, 1,200 artillery pieces, and over 2,000 other military vehicles and was also instrumental in the search for and destruction of Scud Missile Launchers. After this performance the US Air Force decided that the A-10 did have an important place in its inventory and since that time the Thunderbolt II has served in Kosovo, The Second Gulf War and Afghanistan. Currently the plans are to keep it operational until 2028.
This year the Indianapolis Air Show is proud to welcome back the US Air Force Air Combat Command’s East Coast A-10 Demonstration Team. The A-10 Demonstration is always a big hit with Air Show crowds because even though it is big and slow, it flies low, has a sound unlike any other modern jet aircraft, is easy to photograph and with its high maneuverability, stays in front of the crowd for most of its 15 minute demonstration. As in the past at the Indianapolis Air Show, this year’s A-10 demonstration will include the addition of pyrotechnics to simulate bombing runs and strafing attacks.
You can learn more about the A-10 East Demonstration Team and the Air Combat Command, and the A-10 at A-10 East TAC Demo
 |
