If you ask organizer Bryan Lilley, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels are the Kenny Chesney of this year’s Fort Lauderdale Air Show: a sonically thrilling, high-energy headliner, reliably popping up on Fort Lauderdale beach every few years.
The Blue Angels will once again take flight this Saturday and Sunday as the air show’s signature act, stunting over South Florida skies in their sleek F/A-18 Super Hornets. The sextet of elite blue fighter jets last executed hairpin turns and death-defying inverted rolls as headliners in 2021 and 2019. If there’s any sign of Blue Angels fatigue from the public, Lilley would argue it doesn’t exist.
“That’d be like getting burned out on Chesney coming to Tortuga every other year. It’s just not possible,” says Lilley, who has operated the free stunt spectacle since 2012. “It’s like an all-star game, and we’ve got the greatest players making you feel good about the country and our military with this amazing display of aviation on the beach.”
Joining this weekend’s daredevilry in the skies will be 13 military-grade stunt aircraft, paratroopers and, yes, even upside-down helicopters. Here’s everything you can expect from this weekend’s aerial fun, and don’t ever forget earplugs.
Price for flight
Introduced during the pandemic, the free Air.Show livestream was discontinued this year, but those watching from home can still catch crew arrivals and takeoffs from the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport tarmac on the Air Show’s YouTube channel (). Those seeking stunts, though, will have to visit the beach in person, Lilley says.
In-person admission is free for spectators along Fort Lauderdale beach north of Sunrise Boulevard. But be prepared to splurge if you want better seats: Drop Zone beach passes, a prime viewing area on the shore between Sunrise and Northeast 14th Court, cost $26 to $37.50 online (until midnight Friday) and include access to portable restrooms and early 9 a.m. admission.
Lilley says the Sand Boxes, which include beach chairs and admission for four people in designated areas on the sand, are already sold out for both days. Instead, grab a Flight Line Club VIP ticket ($169-$199), which ups the ante with a personal beach tent, catered lunch and parking passes.
Prefer a bird’s-eye view? Arguably the best vantage point is the VIP Penthouse ($599; Saturday sold out) on the rooftop balcony of the Pelican Grand (2000 N. Ocean Blvd.), which includes an air-conditioned bathroom, valet parking, open bar and bites.
Backup option: Watch the Air Show for free from the patio at McSorley’s Beach Pub (837 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd.), or pay $150 for rooftop access, which includes an open bar and lunch buffet. Call 954-565-4446 for reservations.
Ready, Maverick?
These thrill-seeking pilots will scream, thunder and barrel-roll over Fort Lauderdale’s skies and shorelines starting at 11:30 a.m. on both days of the festival.
Here’s the full lineup of stunt performers:
U.S. Navy Blue Angels: Grounded in Pensacola during the off-season, the Blue Angels are known for precision flying their F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets, landing atop each other and flying in the six-jet Delta formation.
U.S. Air Force’s F-22 Raptor Demo Team: Among the most advanced fighter jets in the world, the stealthy, sleek Raptor can cruise at supersonic speeds (up to Mach 1.5), climb vertically and stop in mid-air.
U.S. Special Operations Command Parachute Team: Better known as the Para-Commandos, these paratroopers are composed of volunteers from every military branch.
Air Force Reserve F-16 Vipers: The Air Force’s Reserve 482nd Fighter Wing will be piloting a pair of F-16s, pulling off a formation flyover and an airfield attack simulation among its stunts.
Coast Guard SAR Demo: Returning from their 2022 appearance, this Coast Guard search-and-rescue crew will simulate a water rescue demonstration 300 feet offshore. Rescue swimmers will dive from a helicopter hovering over a person in distress, then hoist the rescued swimmer into the helicopter.
Navy F-35C Lightning II Demo Team: The newest and most advanced stealth fighter jet in the Air Show lineup, the Navy’s F35-C Lightning II’s aircraft boasts a wingspan 8 feet longer than the Air Force’s A model or the Marine’s B model. Their demo will feature a simulated carrier landing.
Red Bull Helicopter: Stuntman Aaron Fitzgerald pilots this modified BO-105C twin-engine helicopter that can execute barrel rolls, vertical climbs, nose dives, full loops and — perhaps most dangerous of all — upside-down flying.
Michael Goulian: Piloting the single-seat Extra 330SC, Goulian’s 400-horsepower monoplane can fly up to 250 mph.
T-38 Talon: This two-seat, supersonic jet trainer has been used to instruct everyone from Air Force pilots to NASA astronauts since it was introduced in 1959. The Northrop T-38 is being phased out this year by the Air Force’s next-gen replacement, the Boeing-Saab T-7 Red Hawk.
Kirby Chambliss: Following a rigorous diet of skydiving and motocross to stay in shape, this civilian stuntman will pilot the Red Bull Edge 540. His electric aircraft will pull aerobatic flips and rolls as it tears across the Atlantic.
Red Bull Air Force: Wearing multicolored wingsuits, this base-jumping crew of performers freefall and glide across the ocean with a series of aerial stunts.
Air Force Heritage Flight: An F-22 Raptor will fly in synchronous formation with a North American Aviation P-51 Mustang, a single-seat fighter-bomber used notably in World War II and the Korean War.
Navy Legacy Flight: A pair of F-35C Lightning IIs will fly in a three-aircraft formation with a Vought F4U Corsair, a rugged fighter also used in World War II and the Korean War.
LOOP de loop
While you wait for this weekend’s sky symphony, there will be a handful of performances on the ground: Live music act Higher Ground will perform a free Friday Night Sound Waves concert from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. April 28. The event includes meet-and-greets with pilot demo teams and an interactive traveling exhibit filled with flight simulations. Go to TheLoopFLB.com.
Parking and road closures
As usual, State Road A1A is expected to be closed between Sunrise Boulevard and Northeast 14th Court from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 29-30, so find alternate routes if commuting. (A checkpoint for residents living on the Birch Park Finger Streets will be posted at Northeast 20th Street). Las Olas Boulevard will also be closed from Seabreeze Boulevard to A1A from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Sunrise Boulevard Bridge may be lowered for boat traffic from 3 to 5 p.m., as spectators exit the beach each day.
We recommend parking at The Galleria mall on Sunrise Boulevard ($20), and crossing the Intracoastal to the beach. Alternately, there are many parking lots, garages and metered spaces near the beach between Oakland Park Boulevard and Southeast 17th Street.
For locals, we recommend the Water Taxi, offering weekend pick-ups and drop-offs at every stop except for Birch State Park. Use promo code AIRSHOW23 for 25 percent off all-day passes.
If you go
WHAT: 2023 Fort Lauderdale Air Show
WHEN: April 29-30
WHERE: Fort Lauderdale beach, north of Sunrise Boulevard
COST: Free to watch; $26-$599 for preferred seat packages
INFORMATION: Go to FortLauderdaleAirShow.com or call 321-395-3110.
