Thunder Over Louisville 2018

[Bretten Bailey]

Thunder Over Louisville 2018
April 21st, 2018
Ohio Riverfront in Louisville, Kentucky
www.thunderoverlouisville.org

Annual Kick-Off to the Kentucky Derby Festival and one of the largest fireworks displays in the country!

[kalamazookid]

Announced on Facebook:

A-10 Demo
USAF Heritage Flight
B-52 Stratofortress Fly-by
FC Flight Formation Team
Younkin Airshows

[kalamazookid]

I'm thinking about going to this, but it would have to be a day trip for me so I'm looking for some feedback on layout, places to watch from, etc.

From the maps posted online, it appears the closest viewing area to the airshow box is on the north side of the river at Ashland Park. Is that accurate? If so, watching from there would presumably allow me to skip out before the fireworks and head back north without dealing with getting back across the river. Would skipping out on the fireworks to avoid some of the traffic afterwards even be plausible?

I don't really have any interest if I have to make this an overnight trip or be stuck on the Louisville side of the river until the wee hours. Any feedback appreciated.

[BruceK]

I'm thinking about going to this, but it would have to be a day trip for me so I'm looking for some feedback on layout, places to watch from, etc.

From the maps posted online, it appears the closest viewing area to the airshow box is on the north side of the river at Ashland Park. Is that accurate? If so, watching from there would presumably allow me to skip out before the fireworks and head back north without dealing with getting back across the river. Would skipping out on the fireworks to avoid some of the traffic afterwards even be plausible?

I don't really have any interest if I have to make this an overnight trip or be stuck on the Louisville side of the river until the wee hours. Any feedback appreciated.

I attended TOL in 2014. We were advised to and did watch from the Indiana side because of traffic issues getting to and out of Louisville. My advice is to get there as early as you can. Ashland Park is the first to fill up. We didn't get there until ~1:30-2pm and had to squeeze into a tiny area quite a distance from the park. Because we ran late we had to park about a mile from the river. We left during the fireworks and it took just over an hour to get to where we were staying about 10-15 miles north of the river. I would say leave as soon as the last act you want to see is done.

As far as the airshow itself, there are unique issues. We had trees blocking the view of show center. There were also things like power lines that made photography a challenge. Things you don't normally have to worry about. Some of the smaller acro types acts "performed" to the Louisville side of the box. The larger jet acts stuck to the middle and in some cases flew right over us. The main reason we went was to see the F-22 for the first time. It performed it's flat spin right over our heads which was a little concerning. I enjoyed the airshow but probably wouldn't go again unless the lineup was just too good to miss.

[kalamazookid]

Thanks for the info, Bruce. All of that is a big help. I'm always leery of airshows that aren't held at airports. There are so many potential issues with sight lines, aircraft not flying near the advertised crowd area, etc. that it's hard to get a good read on whether these types of shows are worth it. It's also hard to judge how early to arrive for an airshow that doesn't start until 3 p.m. From reading your post, it sounds like one would need to arrive well before noon to get a prime seat.

This one sounds like it might be a hassle. I'll keep an eye on it, but probably won't attend unless there is something I absolutely can't miss. TOL initially caught my eye because of the variety of military aircraft that have been advertised for past shows. Do you know if most of the aircraft perform multiple fly-by's?

Thanks again for the information.

[RyanS]

Thanks for the info, Bruce. All of that is a big help. I'm always leery of airshows that aren't held at airports. There are so many potential issues with sight lines, aircraft not flying near the advertised crowd area, etc. that it's hard to get a good read on whether these types of shows are worth it. It's also hard to judge how early to arrive for an airshow that doesn't start until 3 p.m. From reading your post, it sounds like one would need to arrive well before noon to get a prime seat.

This one sounds like it might be a hassle. I'll keep an eye on it, but probably won't attend unless there is something I absolutely can't miss. TOL initially caught my eye because of the variety of military aircraft that have been advertised for past shows. Do you know if most of the aircraft perform multiple fly-by's?

Thanks again for the information.

Overall, TOL is a very disappointing airshow. Most of the military aircraft are one and done flybys down the river, staying plenty high to avoid the bridges and fairly slow for sequencing. I always sat on the Louisville side so all flybys were turns away from us to follow the river. From the Indiana side they would probably be better.

The airshow performances are flown higher than usual (and this was before the new bridge(?) which might make it even worse) and it seems like further away. The show is flown to the city side so other side would be a little bit of a different look if that is worth anything to you; the Heritage Flight break would be head on for example. Aerobatic acts get down low and swing from shore to shore. Minimum radius turns would probably end up over the IN side, but photo passes would be for Louisville.

The one really cool part of the show was when the helicopters came in. They were allowed to fly very low to the water between the bridges and did some turns and maneuvers. I haven't seen that at any airshow since.

The Louisville side is certainly a hassle, we always arrived around noon and still had to take the spots we could get. The fireworks were pretty great, and one airshow friend agreed that the airshow was just a warm up. "Come for the fireworks, see an airshow as a bonus" he said. I can't recommend making plans to attend unless you stay until the end, as it really is a subpar airshow in my eyes. Even rare treats like the Tornados I saw one time were far from worth the trouble.

Here are some photos that might help you judge it.

[kalamazookid]

Thanks for the additional info, Ryan. Making a long drive to only see a single pass by most of the fly-by aircraft hardly seems worth it, and I don't really feel the need to drive three hours for a fireworks show. Glad to know these things in advance before making the drive and being disappointed.

[KC_Aviation]

Just saw this on their website. Looks like a good line up to me. Hopefully the forecast is a good one this year. I might finally return this year.
Here’s the line-up of performers for the 2018 Air Show:

A-10 Demo

A-10/P-51 USAF Heritage Flight

AH-1/UH-1 Helos

Billy Werth, Pitts S-2C

B-52

C-17

C-130 123d AW KYANG & STS Parachute Drop

Canadian Harvards

CF-18 (2)

CT-142

CT-155

E-3

F-15 Mass ANG (2)

F-15 335th FS (4)

F-16 180th FW (4 ship)

Golden Knights

Harvard Twilight -This is the same as the Canadian Harvards-just their twilight show

HH-60 Navy (2)

Jeff Gordon Carbon Cub

KC-10

KC-135 Grissom

KC Flight (6)

Lee Leet Super Tucano

MH-53 (Navy)

Matt Younkin Twin Beech Day Show/Night Fireworks

Nick Coleman Taylorcraft

T-44

T-6

T-38

MH-60

UPS 747-8

US Navy Tac Demo (F/A-18)

USN Legacy Flight (F/A-18 & A-1)

Red Star (Yakovlev flight)



PLEASE NOTE: Aircraft performances subject to change on show day.

[KC_Aviation]

Here's some of my pictures from the past. It is challenging to get there and hold your spot, and not get obstructed from the bridges. Some of the fly-bys suck, because they turn at the river bend, which is where the majority of people sit. However, there's a lot of things that do some good passes, which some are also like a mini-demo. Here's a small sample of what you can get there.
KC-10A Extender by D_Jackman, on Flickr
F-16C Viper Demo Team by D_Jackman, on FlickrGolden Hour Bone by D_Jackman, on FlickrE-2C Hawkeye by D_Jackman, on FlickrIMG_6415-3 by D_Jackman, on Flickr

[RyanS]

Belay my previous remarks - in a last minute call, I'll be there tomorrow! Not getting my hopes up for photos but I'll try for some good video. If nothing else I'll sit with friends and enjoy.