2013 cleveland nat. airshow has a big problem!!

[tom d. friedman]

i spoke with the senior vice president of the cleveland national air show today & he told me that the fall 2013 show does not have a headline act booked. the blues are doing an international tour in europe, the thunderbirds have a prior a booking elsewhere, & to get an act such as the snowbirds or another foreign act is not cost effective because the airshow would have to foot the bill for all the incidentals such as lodging, meals, etc. not to mention the red tape involved by sponsoring an overseas act. this guy still sounded confident so maybe the show will pull something out of their hat!

[Dizzle729]

Perhaps this will force them into creating a different type of show rather than put on the normal, run of the mill airshow. I remember when they brought unique things in like the MIG 29 before the Soviet collapse. It would be nice to see them think outside the box a little.

[tom d. friedman]

i agree w/ your opinion!! i know the guy who payed for the flight in the mig 29. he paid twenty thousand dollars for a 1/2 hour flight. that was some years ago. he was pretty hefty, they probably needed a shoe horn to get him in. i recall many mc'donalds wrappers in his hangar. nice guy, & big into warbirds. he bought a spread in west virginia in the last 10 years.

[Anthony Svihlik]

i spoke with the senior vice president of the cleveland national air show today & he told me that the fall 2013 show does not have a headline act booked. the blues are doing an international tour in europe, the thunderbirds have a prior a booking elsewhere, & to get an act such as the snowbirds or another foreign act is not cost effective because the airshow would have to foot the bill for all the incidentals such as lodging, meals, etc. not to mention the red tape involved by sponsoring an overseas act. this guy still sounded confident so maybe the show will pull something out of their hat!

A few clarifications:

the blues are doing an international tour in europe

The Blue Angels are NOT touring overseas this year.

the thunderbirds have a prior a booking elsewhere

The Thunderbirds ARE conducting a Pacific / Asia tour in 2013. This would have been their year to attend Cleveland (Cleveland hosted the Blues last year and normally alternates between the Blues and the Thunderbirds) but that commitment comes first.

to get an act such as the snowbirds

The Snowbirds participate in the Canadian International Air Show in Toronto, which is the culminating event of the Canadian National Exhibition (and is held during Labor Day Weekend, same as the Cleveland show). The Snowbirds will not bypass that function to perform at a show in the United States.

or another foreign act

No foreign acts are touring the United States in 2013.

maybe the show will pull something out of their hat!

Cleveland WILL have the F-22 Raptor demonstration (the 2013 F-22 Demo Schedule was just released on the Air Combat Command Aerial Events Facebook page here), so that will be the show's headline act. There will also be civilian acts making their Cleveland National Air Show debut this year, so there will be performances that the Cleveland "regulars" have never seen before.

Anthony

[tom d. friedman]

that is good news!! where do you get the in the know info??

[Dizzle729]

i spoke with the senior vice president of the cleveland national air show today & he told me that the fall 2013 show does not have a headline act booked. the blues are doing an international tour in europe, the thunderbirds have a prior a booking elsewhere, & to get an act such as the snowbirds or another foreign act is not cost effective because the airshow would have to foot the bill for all the incidentals such as lodging, meals, etc. not to mention the red tape involved by sponsoring an overseas act. this guy still sounded confident so maybe the show will pull something out of their hat!

A few clarifications:

The Blue Angels are NOT touring overseas this year.

The Thunderbirds ARE conducting a Pacific / Asia tour in 2013. This would have been their year to attend Cleveland (Cleveland hosted the Blues last year and normally alternates between the Blues and the Thunderbirds) but that commitment comes first.

The Snowbirds participate in the Canadian International Air Show in Toronto, which is the culminating event of the Canadian National Exhibition (and is held during Labor Day Weekend, same as the Cleveland show). The Snowbirds will not bypass that function to perform at a show in the United States.

No foreign acts are touring the United States in 2013.

Cleveland WILL have the F-22 Raptor demonstration (the 2013 F-22 Demo Schedule was just released on the Air Combat Command Aerial Events Facebook page here), so that will be the show's headline act. There will also be civilian acts making their Cleveland National Air Show debut this year, so there will be performances that the Cleveland "regulars" have never seen before.

Anthony

Great info, thanks for sharing. Sounds like this could be one of the unique years for the Cleveland show. Since I cant make any out of state shows this year, its nice to have hope the local show will be something different.

[Anthony Svihlik]

An update from The Plain Dealer regarding the Cleveland show:

Sequester could shut down air shows across the nation

Specifics pertaining to Cleveland:

Chuck Newcomb, executive director of the Cleveland National Air Show since 1975, said he is going forward with the belief that military hardware will be available for the Labor Day weekend show here, but will reassess things come June 1.

Newcomb said that if the sequester forces the government to withdraw all military aircraft from 2013 air shows, he will have to “examine financial viability of the [Cleveland] show.”

He said modern military aircraft, and World War II warbirds are top draws and without them the public is likely to stay home.

Anthony

[myteaquinn]

I just finished watching the WJW news (local Cleveland TV station). One of the stories was about the Cleveland National Air Show and they interviewed a lady who was associated with the air show, sorry didn't see the video as much as I heard it. Any way she said that without the Thunderbirds the air show may be cancelled. The station reported that the city of Cleveland would lose $7,000,000.00. By the way the video they showed of the Thunderbirds was of the Blue Angels.

[Anthony Svihlik]

I just finished watching the WJW news (local Cleveland TV station). One of the stories was about the Cleveland National Air Show and they interviewed a lady who was associated with the air show, sorry didn't see the video as much as I heard it. Any way she said that without the Thunderbirds the air show may be cancelled. The station reported that the city of Cleveland would lose $7,000,000.00. By the way the video they showed of the Thunderbirds was of the Blue Angels.

Saw that news segment as well on Cleveland FOX affiliate WJW-8:

Cleveland Air Show Affected by Sequester

It's a shame that the segment mentions that the Thunderbirds were to appear at the 2013 show. The Thunderbirds were originally scheduled for a Pacific / Asia tour this year and were NOT going to appear at Cleveland's show in 2013, regardless of the sequestration budget cuts.

Anthony

[Anthony Svihlik]

From Cleveland ABC affiliate WEWS-5 - the 2013 Cleveland National Air Show has been cancelled:

2013 Cleveland Air Show canceled due to federal sequestration budget cuts

Anthony

[Flying Pencil]

From Cleveland ABC affiliate WEWS-5 - the 2013 Cleveland National Air Show has been cancelled:

2013 Cleveland Air Show canceled due to federal sequestration budget cuts

Anthony

Blaming the Seq cuts for lack of headlining performance?

how many more USAF will not show besides the F-22?

[bombadier29]

Blaming the Seq cuts for lack of headlining performance?

how many more USAF will not show besides the F-22?

NO military will show up. It's not just the F-22 or Thunderbirds. Its the static displays as well.

[tom d. friedman]

just what the city of cleveland needs, another lump on the noggin financially!! this news of the cancellation of the air show is going to have a domino affect for the souvenir merchants, bar owners, junk food vendors, etc. this sequestration b.s. "helping the economy" is tantamount to the u.s. government talking out of both sides of it's mouth. the cleveland air show dates back to the old international air races of the 30's & late 40's. sorry to say this is only the beginning across the board.

[dulei]

he bought a spread in west virginia in the last 10 years.

[JohnTony]

It would be nice to see them think outside the box a little.