Atlantic City Airshow/Thunder Over the Boardwalk 2023

[Cameron Walz]

Well I know somebody who knows a guy who works at KACY, and indeed it is the surprise demo. I didnt tell here incase it wasnt true but it is pretty much confirmed now that the A400M Atlas will be doing a demo.

[passedgas46]

My fiancée, myself, several of our friends, and our relatives have been down in AC since last Thursday and have been having a great time, except for all the low lifes trying to cause trouble on the Boardwalk both Saturday and Sunday nights. Can't say I'm surprised, but that crap should NEVER be happening on the Boardwalk.

I've been to every single beachfront airshow in Atlantic City since this started 20 years ago and several that took place at the airport back in the 1980s and 1990s. I enjoyed seeing the Thunderbirds come in yesterday during a morning stroll on the Boardwalk and we all enjoyed today's practice. Two things I did notice:

1. The 177th seems to be getting more and more involved in the flying display as the years go by. That's great. Maybe it's a sign that the unit is trying to show off their F-16s as much as possible before converting over to the F-35A. And before anyone says anything, yes, I'm aware they haven't been selected yet. My nephew is on some sort of board to try and get the F-35A to the 177th, or so he claims...

2. The "surprise" in the show that two of you managed to spoil on here. Wish you hadn't. It was a nice display. Nothing special, but nice to see "a C-17 with props" as one called it.

Finally... and I can't believe I'm saying this, but our group had to call out a woman who went full-on Karen on a couple photographers with giant lens cameras claiming they were taking pictures of people without their permission. Normally we'd stay out of that but this woman made it her business to be vocal about it but we felt it was necessary to intervene and calmly explain they are taking pictures of airplanes only and then went on about "the airshow's tomorrow, why are they flying today?" You would think that after 20 years of having this airshow that you'd have to be living under a damn boulder to not realize what today is/was. That woman ruffled my feathers, that's for damn sure.

Looking forward to show day tomorrow!

[NEAirMuseums]

To be fair, some of the Philadelphia area spotting groups starting tracking the surprise yesterday on ADS-B Exchange and spread the news all over social media several hours before the posts here. Unfortunately with the prevalence of military aircraft on ADS-B Exchange it’s very difficult to keep things under wraps (although I’ve heard that at least the US military intends to address this issue in the near future).

[passedgas46]

Everyone in our giant party has finally parted ways and we're back home in Delaware. That may not last long after learning about another airshow next weekend that has certainly piqued my attention.

Like I said earlier we spent a week in Atlantic City and we've done that for several years now. Bounce around and stay at two or three different casinos, gamble, get some sun, eat some expensive meals, and get two full days of jet noise in our systems. It doesn't get any better than that.

Now, on to yesterday's fantastic show. I think the highlight for me were the flybys from the heavies - the C-5M, the C-17, and "the C-17 with props", also known as the A400M. I live about 35 minutes from Dover AFB and I'm always in awe seeing them in flight and seeing this one do two slow speed flybys had me grinning like a little kid. Same with the C-17, but that wasn't a Dover bird. The A400M crew put on a great set of flybys and I was expecting them to launch out a couple hundred flares at the end, but that didn't happen. That's okay!

Warbirds... it was nice seeing Tom Duffy's B-25 in flight. I've seen it many times on the ground along with several of his other warbirds and I can now count using two hands how many times I've seen the B-25 fly (I know it goes to Reading but I'm not a regular attendee there).

Everyone else... the civilians did a great job. Loved seeing Kyle, Patrick, and Scott fly. I had wondered what happened to Mark Meredith since no one explained why he didn't appear on the schedule anyone. Learned through someone in the know what had happened, and I wish him the very best in his recovery. Been there, done that, and I know firsthand what he's going through. The other flybys... the NJ ANG, the T-38s, the two helos, they all looked good. Coasties too. Same with the Golden Knights. Same with the Harrier... I'll definitely miss that when they're gone. The Horsemen... I can't tell you how much I love seeing that act. What happened to NBC10's helicopter? Breaking news somewhere else? Same question for the NJNG and their Blackhawks since those guys are regulars...

The Thunderbirds deserve a paragraph on their own. If you weren't there, you wouldn't have known that a layer of fog enveloped much of the beach and the airshow stage around when the Golden Knights jumped in the afternoon. You couldn't see the Horsemen fly their routine from my vantage point and you could see Scott Francis' demo since it cleared up a little. I subscribed to post notifications for the airshow's official Facebook Page and between one person on the beach who was clearly in the know and the airshow's Facebook Page, we were all kept in the loop for the over two hour delay in the show before they appeared after 4:30. Many of the beachgoers around us were getting angry and saying crap like "anyone can fly around in this" without regards to personal safety. More feathers were ruffled until I had to explain why you don't want four jets smashing into the Hard Rock or Ocean casino because they couldn't see them because of the fog.

I do have to hand it to both the airshow's social media team as well as whomever was running the David Schultz Airshows event page for updating the status of the airshow. I think this was the second or third time in twenty years that a fog-out or a threat of a fog-out impacted the airshow - I've seen that happen many times at other beachfront locations but it's rare in AC. I know it's never been rained out on show day.

Looking forward to the 2024 show, whenever that will be, because it appears the Thunderbirds won't be there.

To be fair, some of the Philadelphia area spotting groups starting tracking the surprise yesterday on ADS-B Exchange and spread the news all over social media several hours before the posts here. Unfortunately with the prevalence of military aircraft on ADS-B Exchange it’s very difficult to keep things under wraps (although I’ve heard that at least the US military intends to address this issue in the near future).

I was unaware of those social media posts as I'm not a member of any of those groups. ADS-B Exchange is a great thing as an airplane geek like myself can use but my fear is that in the wrong hands having an idea where our military planes are in friendly and not-so-friendly skies, that could spell disaster.

[jpujol]

The Thunderbirds flew at about 4:45. Did about 8 passes.

Narration Radio Simulcast on 1450 AM announced all delays. Their interviews with the Thunderbirds during the delay were very interesting.

Yes, the whole show box has to be clear for the team to fly. It was clear over the beach, but visibility was bad over other areas.

I saw some impressive Thunderstorm clouds as I was leaving on AC Expressway.

[n33d4sp33d_85]

Here's my first set of highlights from the airshow.

1. USAF T-38 Talon 2-Ship Flybys



2. NJ ANG F-16 Fighting Falcon 4-Ship Flybys



3. USAF C-5M Super Galaxy Flybys



4. Kyle Fowler's Long-EZ Performance



Stay tuned for more of my videos from this year's show.

[n33d4sp33d_85]

Here are my other highlights from this year's show.

1. USMC AV-8B Harrier II Demonstration



2. German Air Force A400M Atlas Demonstration



3. Jim Beasley and Ed Shipley's P-51 Mustang 2-Ship Display



4. B-25 Mitchell "Take Off Time" (skip to 1:36 to see the watermelon drop)



To view the rest of my videos, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcOnkLO ... p=gAQBiAQB

[passedgas46]

The Thunderbirds flew at about 4:45. Did about 8 passes.

Narration Radio Simulcast on 1450 AM announced all delays. Their interviews with the Thunderbirds during the delay were very interesting.

Yes, the whole show box has to be clear for the team to fly. It was clear over the beach, but visibility was bad over other areas.

I saw some impressive Thunderstorm clouds as I was leaving on AC Expressway.

My fiancée was up on the Boardwalk during the break in the action and saw Thunderbird #12 and the airshow announcer getting interviewed by Harry Hurley. Like I said in my previous post the airshow did an absolutely fantastic job of providing near real time updates through social media. I think the problem with the delays was that a lot of people either didn't have a portable radio with them or didn't check social media, and they were unaware of what was going on. Between our large party we had two or three radios and one person even had a handheld scanner that could pick up FM radio stations. We were in the know because of having radios, social media updates, and of course learning from someone on the beach who was clearly in the know.

Your comment about the whole box having to be clear does resonate with me. I'm old enough to have seen the two jet teams in F-4s (but don't remember them flying them!) to the present and have been to hundreds of airshows in my lifetime and have seen it all with weather. Heck, I even sat in on a presentation someone did somewhere maybe 15-20 years ago on how weather affects airshows at all locations. Wish I could remember who gave that presentation (it was a meteorologist who had a pilot's license) but it was in Dallas. Either way, it was great seeing the Thunderbirds four times (actually five if you count the two that flew around Monday morning) in three days, and the icing on the cake was the four big wins I had on the slots and in blackjack!

[jaosciak]

Took the Cape May Whale Watcher Airshow cruise again this year. Love the results considering this was the worst bobbing around I've experienced doing this.

[jaosciak]

AC2023