Gulf Coast Salute 2024

[Balloonchaser]

Latest Addition
Tom Larkin [SubSonex]

viewtopic.php?p=45453#p45453

[Shiller]

Coming from Virginia for this event. Curious, will there be paid seating with shade coverage near the russell fields pier or not? Also, assuming all planes are taking off from tyndall.afb, are all of the PCB oceanfront hotels good for daily viewing? We are looking at holiday inn express 12907 front beach road, which is ~3 miles away.

[wfooshee]

I haven't seen anything about seating or shade, and I highly doubt it, being on the beach. There is nothing firm enough to support seating. I would imagine everybody and their dog will be bringing EZ-ups and staking out plots early. I haven't seen anything about what you'd expect at an air shows as far as food and drinks vendors, either, and again, there'll be no place to put them on the beach, although they might be placed across the street. There are plenty of regular food joints in the shopping across the street, but they would be absolutely overwhelmed trying to accommodate an air show crowd.

I certainly wouldn't want to be 3 miles from show center, either. You'll be able to see the show, you would see the smoke trails, but if you want pictures, forget it. I played with Google Earth a while ago, here's a view down the beach. The white building is the holiday Inn Express, and the little line out into the water at the top left is the pier that will be show center.


If you fancy a bit of a hike, I'd try to move closer, but you'll be at ground level and in amongst the crowd. Be sure and take a rolling cooler with drinks!

There are beachfront hotels much closer, but they are not "budget" even in the best of times, and I'm sure that even without the air show, they're already at a premium and probably even booked already, since that is the weekend of the Thunder Beach motorcycle rally.

[Airshow0wen]

Updated site has the following acts

533 OSS PJ and Air Force Diver Demo
F-35B Demo
WEG Flyby (QF-16 & E-9)
325th FW Flyby (F-35)

Show 10am-4pm

Parking is at Aaron Bessant Park

https://www.visitpanamacitybeach.com/ev ... -air-show/

[n33d4sp33d_85]

Screenshot 2024-04-18 104605.png (257.08 KiB) Viewed 215 times

[wfooshee]

I had the need to drive across Tyndall AFB this past weekend, and it's obvious why the show was moved off-base.

Tyndall is a bit unique for military installations in that it is bisected by US98 between Panama City to the west of Tyndall, and Mexico Beach, Port St. Joe, and other points east. US98 remains public, so you cross the base without actually entering the base, but there are multiple gates to both sides of the highway, with the flight operation on the north side and most other facilities on the south side. The main gate creates a major intersection with US98, as Tyndall traffic, to get from one side of the highway to the other, must actually exit the main gate on one side and re-enter the main gate on the other side. That crossing is an intersection with a traffic light, and if something's going on at the base, US98 can be forced to endure lengthy delays while military traffic crosses the highway.

That intersection (along with MANY other facilities on the base) is undergoing major renovation, as they build an overpass for US98, and ramps off of and onto US98 for Tyndall traffic. The construction is smack dab in the middle of what would be the traffic pattern for buses carrying visitors from airshow parking on the south side to the flight line on the north side, and other buildings being built along the flight ramp make the entire show area a major construction zone, completely unsuitable for a crowd the size they usually get.

I snagged the image below from Google Earth. It's from May '23 and is the most recent image in the image history selection. I've marked in red the fields that they used for general parking, and the green is the show area where the public is set up, along with vendors, displays, and so on. The blue area is the point where Tyndall traffic crosses US 98. You can see the obvious construction going on behind the crowd area, and the problems with access along the highway.

I certainly hope this show can return to the base, and I also hope it returns to its biannual schedule and we can see it on base in 2026. As I stated earlier in this thread, I have not been to a better venue anywhere for airshow photography.

[Airplanefreak2000]

Trojan Thunder will no longer be performing.

[passedgas46]

I had the need to drive across Tyndall AFB this past weekend, and it's obvious why the show was moved off-base.

Tyndall is a bit unique for military installations in that it is bisected by US98 between Panama City to the west of Tyndall, and Mexico Beach, Port St. Joe, and other points east. US98 remains public, so you cross the base without actually entering the base, but there are multiple gates to both sides of the highway, with the flight operation on the north side and most other facilities on the south side. The main gate creates a major intersection with US98, as Tyndall traffic, to get from one side of the highway to the other, must actually exit the main gate on one side and re-enter the main gate on the other side. That crossing is an intersection with a traffic light, and if something's going on at the base, US98 can be forced to endure lengthy delays while military traffic crosses the highway.

I've done the drive on US 98 on some of my past Pensacola trips. Granted we're talking the October/November timeline but it was an enjoyable drive.

Dover AFB is also unique where you have Delaware Route 1 (a toll road) going right down the middle of the base. When you travel south you have the runways, ramps, hangars, and all the ops buildings to your left and at the exit for the main gate, to your right is base housing. There's an entry control point to get into the housing.

I have faith in Tyndall AFB hosting airshows again. Rebuilding the base takes priority and if I had to guess, it'd be at least another two or three more years until they can host an airshow.