2011 Fort Smith Airshow to feature Thunderbirds, JetBus

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds may be the featured act of the 2011 Fort Smith Airshow, but a jet-powered school bus — the JetBus — that can reach speeds of 350 miles and hour may be a show stealer.

Members of the 188th Fighter Wing and the 188th Fighter Wing/Fort Chaffee Community Council held a press conference Wednesday (Jan. 19) to announce the 2011 Fort Smith Airshow is scheduled for Oct. 1-2, with the world-famous Thunderbirds to headline the event.

Began in 1953 as demonstration team, the Thunderbirds have evolved into a popular act at airshows around the world. In 2011, the team is expected to do more than 70 shows. According to the Thunderbird’s website, the team’s primary missions are to “exhibit the capabilities of modern, warfighting aircraft” and “demonstrate the high degree of skill maintained by Air Force members serving in a variety of career specialties.”

Col. Tom Anderson, commander of the 188th, and Chuck Fawcett, a member of the community council, said they are pleased to bring the show back after it being cancelled in 2009 because the 188th was deployed overseas.

The 2008 show drew a crowd of more than 200,000 with an estimated economic impact of $5.6 million. Fawcett believes the 2010 show will attract as many or more than in 2009.

Fawcett said the council will have to raise about $125,000 to pay for the non-military airshow performers and ensure the airshow continues to allow free admission.

“This is the largest free airshow in the United States,” Fawcett said.

Money will be raised by selling private “chalet” space (think box seats at a sports stadium), advertising revenue from an airshow magazine/program and through a percentage of concession sales during the airshow.

Fawcett also said partners like Wal-Mart, the city of Fort Smith, the Fort Smith Regional Airport, Fort Smith Regional Airport Commission and the Fort Smith Public School District have helped make the airshow a success in recent years.

“We could not have done this without support of the whole community,” Fawcett explained.

When asked about the airshow overlapping with the Arkansas Oklahoma State Fair, Fawcett said the Oct. 1-2 dates were the first available that could be obtained from the Thunderbirds. He also said he thinks the events will help draw more people to the region on that weekend.

“Hopefully, we’ll be good for both parties,” Fawcett said of the fair and the airshow events. “The restaurants will be full and the hotels will be full.”

Lt. Col. JJ. Krimmel, with the 188th, said the airshow will also feature air combat command demonstrations, the “Tora, Tora, Tora” group that recreates the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a Russian aircraft demonstration team and a glider that will fly upside down just a few feet of the ground to cut a ribbon for the airshow.

And then there is the school bus powered by the same jet engine the powered the F-4 Phantom Fighter — a plane type that was once assigned to the 188th. According to IndyBoys, the company that operates the jet-powered bus, the vehicle is the world’s largest jet vehicle and shoots flames 75-feet.

“The JetBus also brings the message to schools and events that ‘Jets are hot, drugs are not!’” notes the IndyBoys website.

Krimmel stressed that the entire lineup for the airshow has not yet been secured, but said he expects the airshow to include a long list of static exhibits and flying demonstrations.