Columbus Air Show Presented by Scotts 2023

[dzirzow]

I even cancelled hotel room today, was going to just watch from Baymont Hotel Rickenbacker. Noticed someone cancelled a block of rooms. So there are some rooms open.

[n33d4sp33d_85]

https://www.facebook.com/TheColumbusAir ... %2CO%2CP-R

We are excited to announce the addition of the Scotts Aviation Showcase to the 2023 Columbus Air Show Presented by Scotts, June 16-18!
This Scotts Aviation Showcase will feature a variety of iconic WWII-era aircraft, which air show fans will have the chance to see in the sky throughout the weekend.
Don’t miss out on seeing this one-of-a-kind showcase of iconic warbirds!

[Flyingbrian]

I was blown away by the Columbus Airshow. The flying was varied and constant, the grounds setup ended up being significantly better than originally shown, and getting in and out was super easy.

The good:
WARBIRDS. I haven't been to a big airshow with more than a couple warbirds since 2019, which was the last Planes of Fame airshow. Columbus brought back memories of Chino, and I do not say that lightly. Saturday had six a/c up (Yankee's B-25, Tri-State's P-40, local P-51 Old Crow, CAF Georgia's P-63, Brad Deckert's TBM, and Warbird Heritage Foundation's FG-1D), Sunday had five (TBM mx scratch). Formation and single passes from all aircraft, both topside and belly passes, from both the left and right, plus a couple overheads from behind. The vast majority of the single passes were down near the ground. This went on for 20-25 minutes at least. It was nothing other than spectacular.

Variety. I was very impressed by the variety of acts flying at the show. Between STOL drag (genuinely a really cool and dynamic event, a great time filler, and amazing panning practice), warbird review, a couple typical aerobatic demos (Rob Holland and Michael Goulian), graceful warbird aerobatics (CAF P-51C and P-51D Old Crow), and the modern military (F-35/KC-135, F-22 Demo, Blue Angels), there was really something for every audience. Sunday added a couple extra static display departures, as is typical. There were no little "teasers" for the aerobatic guys, which was a pleasant surprise after Nellis last year.

Logistics: Parking was a breeze. Got there 15min before gate opening and parked super close. Left about 45 min after the Blues landed, and it took three (yes, THREE) minutes to drive off the airport.

Crowd line: despite the original map, nearly half the fence line was general admission. We had a spot just to the right of the last chalets, probably 50-100 feet from show center, with the sun ending up behind us. Zero complaints whatsoever.

The bad:
Advertising. The warbird aspect was completely buried by other advertising, and I know some fellow forum-goers bailed b/c of the lack of info on the warbirds.

Cost: It's an expensive airshow. It was $77 for a Sunday ticket and parking, purchased 2.5 weeks before the show. That said, if a future show replicates this year, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Carpooling with someone makes it even more appealing.
Related, charging for friday: Anyone who paid for a Friday ticket got severely ripped off. No F-5, no F-35/KC-135, significantly fewer warbirds. It was a typical rehearsal day with a shorter show, which won't surprise any of us but the general public may not know. This should be a two day airshow, not three.


Photography lighting: It kinda sucks, but right around this time of year is actually the best possible lighting *on the show grounds* considering how the runway is set up. The sun crossed the centerline around 2pm, so the blues flew with decent light (coming from over my right shoulder). I won't even get into the horrendous haze on Saturday, since that's out of everyone's control. It was significantly better Sunday.

The eh:
Statics. By no means bad, but a little light. Legacy hornets were a no-show, and all of the flying warbirds were way off on the hot ramp away from the crowd. There wasn't a huge amount of ramp space, but I wish some of the flying warbirds were towed back and forth and gotten the static displays packed in a little more. A couple aircraft showed up Saturday morning (P-51D "Gentleman Jim" and a Cessna 190), but never appeared on the static ramp and the Mustang left during the show on Sunday.

Ticket verification: An odd thing to comment on, but when I'm paying $25 for parking and an additional $45 for my ticket, I'd expect a bit more vigilance to be taken to verify them. I'm genuinely wondering how electronic parking passes were checked, since paper ones were instructed to be placed on the dash. I heard multiple comments about people wondering if they could have just walked in with a piece of paper looking "close enough."

I'd add in some photos, but alas, this was my "lost show" that every photographer ends up with at some point. The incredible disappearing memory card absconded as I was packing up on Sunday, so that day will have to live on in my head.


TL;DR: If Columbus can keep up what they had this year, I'll be there every year without a doubt. This has serious potential to become Ohio's big warbird show. Add a few more statics, keep the grounds layout the same, and continue with the variety, and it'll become Ohio's big airshow, period.

[kalamazookid]

Thanks for the review! Sounds like one to put on my list for the future. I would have had to go on Friday this year, so maybe not as worthwhile based on your review. If the Scott's Aviation Showcase for the warbirds is going to be repeated, it sounds likely to be worthwhile and the layout sounds more friendly for general admission than the grounds map looked. Hopefully, they will advertise the warbirds better next time around.

Sounds like a fun weekend!

[ohiojeff]

Thanks for the review, kalamazookid! I was tempted to come up on Sunday, but I was unclear how much GA space there would be and was put off by the cost and the fact that you couldn't bring in any food or drinks. I drive up to Dayton every summer and it's a bit more economical. But they have had a lot less warbirds lately, too.

[Flyingbrian]

No problem! Yeah, definitely recommend the weekend show. This map (https://columbusairshow.com/wp-content/ ... ap_v11.pdf ) is accurate to how the show was set up, except STOL drag was on the near runway when they ran it, rather than the grass.
Regarding food and drink, the security check was minimal. I packed in food with no issues, and while I didn't pack in water (they had free filling stations), I easily could have. I'm planning on basically saying what I did above in an email to the show organizers in the hopes that they continue the path they've set.

[jhtolatc]

Related, charging for friday: Anyone who paid for a Friday ticket got severely ripped off. No F-5, no F-35/KC-135, significantly fewer warbirds. It was a typical rehearsal day with a shorter show, which won't surprise any of us but the general public may not know. This should be a two day airshow, not three.

This verifies what I heard from others about Friday. When I was at TOL on Friday and our F-16s left for LCK around noon, this is where my suspicions went, that they were charging airshow prices for the typical arrival day/practice show. I seriously hope this does not become a trend.