Airshow roaring over town on Father’s Day Weekend

MOSES LAKE — This year’s Moses Lake Airshow is going to be a little louder than the previous three airshows.

Largely because the number of jet acts, everything from the most modern warplanes in U.S. inventory to one of the oldest combat jets flying is scheduled to show off and grace the skies of this year’s Moses Lake Airshow, which is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, June 18-19, at the Grant County International Airport.

“Loud is good,” said Airport Director Rich Mueller. “The (F/A-18G) Growlers are back. They were super popular last year and they enjoy coming here as well. We see them every week

While they aren’t scheduled to perform, Mueller said four United States Marine Corps F-35s are set to do a flyover sometime Saturday. They won’t do any aerobatic flying, and they won’t land, but they will show what the plane can do.

“Within the envelope of their normal flying, they can still do some pretty impressive things,” Mueller said. “We’re asking, begging and pleading with them to see if they’re going to stick around long enough to do something on Sunday as well. But all we know is Saturday.”

Gates open at the Grant County International Airport both days at 10 a.m., with flying set to begin at 12:30 p.m. Scheduled to perform this year on both Saturday and Sunday are:

The E/A-18 Growler Air Show Team from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

The Wings of Blue U.S. Air Force Academy Parachute Team.

Kyle Fowler of Go EZ Aerobatics in his Long EZ.

Vampire Airshows De Havilland DH-115 Vampire.

Canadian flying team Yellow Thunder.

Mike Tryggvason on 10G Aerosports

David Costa of Renegade AV8R in his Polish-built TS-11 jet trainer.

Tom Larkin in his JSX minijet.

Yuichi Takagi of REDFOX Airshows in his Pitts Special S-2S.

On display on the GCIA’s secondary runway, where spectators will also gather, will be a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport, several World War II-era aircraft from the Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras, Oregon, Eviation’s all-electric Alice airplane, a collection of U.S. Army transport vehicles and helicopters, a Canadian Forces CH149 Cormorant transport helicopter, and a T-38 trainer used by U-2 pilots at Beale Air Force Base in California.

There will also be food and a veterans' hospitality tent. This year’s airshow will be held on the Saturday and Sunday of Father’s Day Weekend, rather than the Friday and Saturday before Father’s Day.

“That was feedback from our customers,” Mueller said, adding the hope is that will bring more people out.

Airshow Director Terry Quick said the interest from jet performers shows that despite being a small airshow, Moses Lake is attracting significant attention.

“This is a world-class event,” Quick said. “It’s coming along. We’re getting more volunteers, and we’re making improvements on things each year.”

Tom Larkin will be making his fourth appearance at the Moses Lake Airshow this year in his mini-jet. Larkin, who was an F-15C pilot and trainer for the USAF for many years, said the little jet helps him connect to kids, and that’s the main reason he flies his tiny plane at airshows across the country.

“Kids can relate to it,” Larkin said. “It’s so small and cool, it grabs their attention. They say, ‘I can do that, it’s just my size.’”

In addition, the air show is also staging a fly-in for private pilots, who will get breakfast on both Saturday and Sunday, discounted airshow tickets, and special access to camping areas at both the GCIA and the Moses Lake Municipal Airport if they choose to fly in there, according to Rod Richeson, chair of the Moses Lake Airport Commission and owner of Blue Sky Aviation.

“We’re asking everybody who flies into kind of allow their aircraft to be displayed,” Richeson said.

Richeson said while the big, loud military jets draw a lot of people to airshows, smaller aircraft like the ones he repairs and now teaches people to fly are also a crucial draw.

“You can go out there and see Cessnas, Beechcraft, those are regular-people airplanes that are much more accessible. And there’s lots of (flight) schools around here. So people can really have the opportunity to get involved in aviation that way,” he said.

Mueller said the fly-in gives pilots a chance to come and enjoy the airshow, and it will also inspire young people with an interest in airplanes and flying to make aviation their career.

“For most of us who are pilots, we started out as somebody who was walking around on an airport and we met somebody who was willing to show us their little airplane,” Mueller said. “That’s an opportunity we want to allow as many people as possible to have.”

For more information, or to buy tickets, visit the Moses Lake Airshow’s website at moseslakeairshow.com.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.