Photo By Venessa Armenta | A United States Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron "Thunderbird" flies over the Gulf...... read more read more
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Tyndall Air Force Base and Bay County recently celebrated the long-awaited return of a beloved bi-annual regional event. After recovering from the impact of Hurricane Michael and a seven-year hiatus, the Gulf Coast Salute Air Show took place May 4- 5, this time hosted at the Russell-Fields City Pier.
Prior to this year's show, the event was held at the installation, but as Tyndall continues to undergo the most extensive military construction rebuild effort in U.S. Department of Defense history, event coordinators knew that this would be an obstacle for spectators. Team Tyndall decided to use this as an opportunity to continue its partnership with the local community.
"We almost shelved it and said we'd have to wait a couple more years, but a few people on our team came up with the idea to host it on the beach," stated U.S. Air Force Col. George R. Watkins, 325th Fighter Wing commander. "We reached out to Panama City Beach, and they reassured us, 'Hey, we're a tourism area. We're used to handling big crowds of people. We would love to host the ground portion of the air show.’"
A popular tourist destination, the Russell-Fields City Pier was chosen as the optimal venue due to its scenic backdrop and ability to accommodate large crowds and proved successful with more than 250K attendees between both days. The show's success extended beyond the local community as many visitors traveled from out of town to witness the aerial performances and even caught the attention of those in the air show industry. Air show event co-director and Tyndall AFB director of staff Adam Bright credited the turnout to a couple of reasons- community support and the event's uniqueness compared to previous shows the installation has hosted.
"What made this event different from others was that this was a new format for air shows. When we attended the [International Council of Air Shows conference] in December 2022 and shared our plan, it piqued people's interest because the air show scene is fairly standard, and this was something they hadn't seen done," said Bright.
Bright explained how, in previous years, the 325th Fighter Wing handled all event logistics down to the last detail. However, the community partnerships with entities such as the City of Panama City Beach, Visit Panama City Beach and the Bay County Chamber of Commerce played a pivotal role in this year's success. This time, Tyndall centered their focus on the military aspect of the show, locking in key performers such as the United States Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron "Thunderbirds".
At the same time, community partners handled details such as traffic, parking and concessions amongst other important event aspects.
In addition to the Thunderbirds, attendees were treated to demonstrations by performers such as the F-22 Raptor and the F-35B Lightning II demonstration teams, civilian aerial acts, and more, all handpicked by Tyndall AFB.
"After returning from the ICAS convention, we had a backpack full of business cards and pamphlets that took us about a week or two to comb through and pick this show's line-up," said Bright. "We wanted to come up with various unique performers and geared toward aircraft that people don't often get to see."
Some examples of these performers included acts like the MiG-17 demonstration, the Mini Jet demonstration flown by pilot Tom Larkin and the T-33 Shooting Star, or "Ace Maker" as many may know it by. Not only are these aircraft rare, but the pilots that fly them were previously F-15 Eagle pilots assigned to Tyndall, making them long-time members of the Team Tyndall family.
While striving to strengthen community relationships, the show also served as a joint service opportunity with demonstrations provided by additional military branches including the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard.
The military has a long-standing tradition surrounding air shows dating back to shortly following World War I when pilots would perform aerial demonstrations at local events or patriotic celebrations within flying distance of a military airfield as an effort to keep their skills sharp and their planes in the air. More recently, these events have been utilized as educational opportunities to demonstrate the capabilities that make our military the dominant force it is today.
Though educating the public is a primary objective for these events, the benefits are multifaceted as they aid in building and maintaining relationships with the local community and serve as a recruitment aid. The installation arranged for the Thunderbirds to visit three local high schools leading up to the event, allowing students to meet and converse with the pilots. In fact, during the event, nearly 20 individuals took the oath of enlistment on the pier.
"There were many people who got to witness those individuals take the oath of enlistment, and hopefully that helped inspire some to look into a career with the military," stated Bright.
Bright explained how the new event format benefited the installation and the community. For Tyndall, the benefits came in the form of raising awareness, strengthening relationships and reducing costs. Community members also saw a return on investment due to the sheer increase in visitors to the area.
"The event was such a success that the Monday following the air show, the team over at Visit Panama City Beach received an influx of phone calls from the hotels and restaurants in the area asking if this could be an annual event," said Bright.
Due to the event's success, Tyndall and their community partners hope to maintain the same format for the foreseeable future.
“Hosting the 2024 Gulf Coast Salute Air Show at Panama City Beach has been an incredible opportunity for us to bring the community’s love of the military and the beach together for one amazing weekend,” said Dan Rowe, Visit Panama City Beach president and chief executive officer. “We’ve received an abundance of positive comments regarding the event, and many are already looking forward to the next air show. We’re excited to work with Tyndall AFB on events like these in the future.”
For information on the next Gulf Coast Salute Air Show, follow Team Tyndall and Visit Panama City Beach on Facebook and Instagram.
| Date Taken: | 05.22.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.22.2024 15:32 |
| Story ID: | 472033 |
| Location: | TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 74 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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