Northern Illinois Airshow 2023

[IDF783]

I reached out to the admin for their FB page and no Fri practice.

[bigt512]

It looks like the A-10's arrived today

[KC_Aviation]

Did they end up bringing the Blacksnakes "Black Mamba" A-10?

[sovietjet]

Unlikely, the black A-10 was transferred to DM a couple of months ago.

[RyanS]

Did they end up bringing the Blacksnakes "Black Mamba" A-10?

No, it's the Belle and a gray jet

Unlikely, the black A-10 was transferred to DM a couple of months ago.

That's why he asked, the Demo Team has been using it but only at certain shows. Sadly not Waukegan!

[Ohareplanespotter21]

Can anybody comment on the distance of the planes from the crowd and lighting for this show?

[kalamazookid]

Can anybody comment on the distance of the planes from the crowd and lighting for this show?

The show line faces northwest and the lighting is usually friendly for photography. Every year I have attended, the aircraft have taken off from the NE end of the runway and initiated their passes from that direction, which helps even more. The runway and taxiway are close, and so are most passes. If you sit on the ramp, most of the aircraft will start up right in front of you, but the downside is you might have cadets standing or walking around in front of you. If you sit in the grass, you'll have mostly clear views of the runway and taxiway. The wind sock does get in the way from a few angles, but it's not that much of an issue.

[Ohareplanespotter21]

Thats good to know and thanks for the help!

[kalamazookid]

This show continues to be one of my favorites. Always a good time, and military participation makes it that much better. Hard to imagine a more laid-back way to see two demo teams. The Heritage and Legacy flights were the only ones I will see this year, so it was great to get three and four-ship performances respectively. Nice to finally see "Happy Jack's Go Buggy" up close, and I was glad to see the F-86 in the vintage jet carousel - I did not expect it to fly.

Only downsides were a couple no-shows (B-25, TBM) and they continue to be stingy with A-4 passes year to year.

A few photos.

[IDF783]

This show continues to be one of my favorites. Always a good time, and military participation makes it that much better.

Absolutely. From a venue perspective one of the better spaces. I don't think I saw Growlers as close up taxiing as I did - or all planes. Even the flying box very close to the crowd. Too bad they couldn't make it two days.