Orlando Air and Space Show 2023

[badeshka]

New performer added to the list.

[Ken91]

John Black does have a nice aerobatic act.

Unfortunately, it looks like the AAHF's Huey & Cobra won't be coming to the show. They're off the performers list.

[badeshka]

John Black does have a nice aerobatic act.

Unfortunately, it looks like the AAHF's Huey & Cobra won't be coming to the show. They're off the performers list.

Its strange because while they are not on the list for performers, AAHF still has tickets for rides on their website for both helis.

[Ken91]

My son & I went to the show yesterday (Sunday). We had a good time, in general, and all the flying was good. It was cool seeing Beo's last F-35 demo. The biggest problem was the lack of acts so there was a lot of downtime between them. It was also pretty warm but with a decent breeze. Some pictures will be posted later.

[Ken91]

A few pics from yesterday's show.

[Ken91]

A few more

[Balloonchaser]

The biggest problem was the lack of acts so there was a lot of downtime between them.

Just giving my take on this. Air.Show seems to have established a positive working relationship with the Orlando-Sanford Airport. As part of the current agreement, commercial flights are allocated three 10-minute windows for landing and departure during the overall 3.5-hour block for the airshow demonstration. This approach follows the 'Sun N Fun' model used in Lakeland with Amazon, and it generally satisfies all parties involved. From my perspective, although it felt a bit unusual to have a full-fledged stage at an airshow, I think there's the potential for this to be the future platform for airshows. I believe that Air.Show and airshow announcers Brittany and Allen did an exceptional job of keeping the airshow crowd engaged during the breaks via some pretty cool interviews & crowd interactions with the pilots/teams.

The C-17 demo team having to cancel last minute due to real-world conflicts, created a last-minute switch to John Black with his Super Decathlon demonstration. I feel that while his decathlon demo is pretty cool; it's relatively low-energy compared to being surrounded by fighter jets, warbirds, and Michael Goulian. Was a tad weird having 2 P-51s back to back on Saturday (which is why I assume they changed the solo P-51 demo to the beginning of the show on Sunday). Other than the pre-set windows for commercial traffic, the show flowed pretty well with no large gaps - and if there was a gap, there was a pilot interview for the crowd. The only big thing I noticed was the small static display. I believe there were 5 general aviation aircraft (Tecnam, 3 flight schools, and some random aircraft), 4 Shaw F-16's, 3 warbirds, and the C-17. Even with the C-5 that was supposed to be present, thought there might've been an F-15, T-6, T-38, A-10, P-8, C-130, or DC-3. Was a bit shocked how the Top Gun cockpit experience was sorta shoved in the corner - I feel like it would've gotten a lot more interaction by the main gate or by the show line.

Lastly, the Sanford police department (and the other local departments) did a fantastic job with traffic control. Traffic, for the most part, flowed in and out of the airport/area really smoothly with only a few areas of congestion. In comparison to other events, quite impressed.

[Ken91]

I have no problem with the commercial aviation breaks, and I certainly understand that. I also understand that the C-17 had to bail for operational reasons. No problem. I love John Black's demo, too, so adding him certainly a positive.

Compared to many other shows, my problem was just the lack of acts in general. I do appreciate the Air.Show having the stage and doing pilot/team interviews. I just wanted more flying. It seemed like there were too many breaks between acts even when there was no commercial traffic.

Just my 2 cents.

The biggest problem was the lack of acts so there was a lot of downtime between them.

Just giving my take on this. Air.Show seems to have established a positive working relationship with the Orlando-Sanford Airport. As part of the current agreement, commercial flights are allocated three 10-minute windows for landing and departure during the overall 3.5-hour block for the airshow demonstration. This approach follows the 'Sun N Fun' model used in Lakeland with Amazon, and it generally satisfies all parties involved. From my perspective, although it felt a bit unusual to have a full-fledged stage at an airshow, I think there's the potential for this to be the future platform for airshows. I believe that Air.Show and airshow announcers Brittany and Allen did an exceptional job of keeping the airshow crowd engaged during the breaks via some pretty cool interviews & crowd interactions with the pilots/teams.

The C-17 demo team having to cancel last minute due to real-world conflicts, created a last-minute switch to John Black with his Super Decathlon demonstration. I feel that while his decathlon demo is pretty cool; it's relatively low-energy compared to being surrounded by fighter jets, warbirds, and Michael Goulian. Was a tad weird having 2 P-51s back to back on Saturday (which is why I assume they changed the solo P-51 demo to the beginning of the show on Sunday). Other than the pre-set windows for commercial traffic, the show flowed pretty well with no large gaps - and if there was a gap, there was a pilot interview for the crowd. The only big thing I noticed was the small static display. I believe there were 5 general aviation aircraft (Tecnam, 3 flight schools, and some random aircraft), 4 Shaw F-16's, 3 warbirds, and the C-17. Even with the C-5 that was supposed to be present, thought there might've been an F-15, T-6, T-38, A-10, P-8, C-130, or DC-3. Was a bit shocked how the Top Gun cockpit experience was sorta shoved in the corner - I feel like it would've gotten a lot more interaction by the main gate or by the show line.

Lastly, the Sanford police department (and the other local departments) did a fantastic job with traffic control. Traffic, for the most part, flowed in and out of the airport/area really smoothly with only a few areas of congestion. In comparison to other events, quite impressed.

[BruceK]

The TBirds had a near collision during the high low hit maneuver when the Diamond formation got hit with wake turbulence from the solo.

[Ken91]

The TBirds had a near collision during the high low hit maneuver when the Diamond formation got hit with wake turbulence from the solo.

Wow! I hadn't heard about that. That looked way too close for comfort! We were on our way to our car at that time and stopped to watch that maneuver.