Government shutdown to ground military performances at upcoming Santa Maria airshow
Dave Alley
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The ongoing federal government shutdown will ground all military performances and displays at this weekend’s airshow in Santa Maria.
The Central Coast AirFest is scheduled for this upcoming Saturday and Sunday on Oct. 18-19 at the Santa Maria Public Airport.
Due to the current government shutdown, organizers are having to make adjustments to the schedule of participants at this year’s event.
“Unfortunately, our main line act, which was the F-35 Demo Team has been cancelled,” said Jim Bray, AirFest spokesman. “We just got officially the word on that just yesterday because of the government shutdown. The F-18, also a military aircraft, has had to back out, as well as the KC-135 tanker, which is a very impressive aircraft. It also had to back out.”
While the military aircraft will no longer be a part of the show, organizers point out there will still be an impressive array of planes on hand, plus replacements are being lined up as well.
“I think it’s important that that folks know out of the 75 aircraft that are scheduled to be here for the event, probably ten were military, so that the airshow will definitely go on and it’ll be definitely, just as fun with all the aerobatics and all the static displays,” said Bray. “We’ve got some aircraft coming in and and we’ll be posting out on the website pretty shortly.”
Now in its fifth year, the AirFest has become a popular annual event for aviation enthusiasts. Last year’s show was attended by 20,000 spectators.
For those who come out to the show this weekend, organizers say they will see an impressive show that will be full of high-adrenaline and heart-pounding action.
“We got a full schedule,” said Steven Hinton, Planes of Fame Air Museum President. “We have a lot of warbird flying and a lot of aerobatic. We brought a, team in from Florida with three P-51’s going to do an airshow. They’re called the Jack Aces formation aerobatics. We’ve got MiG-17, B-25’s and Mustangs. We got a P-40, P-47, 233, Ace Maker Airshow. We got a lot of a lot of things planned. It’s going to be a great show.”
Gates open each day at 9 a.m. and close at 5 p.m.
Flying performances will last from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. both days.
The Central Coast AirFest will also include sevearl commercial vendors selling merchandise, as well as food and drink.
Parking is free and children 11-years-old and under will be admitted without charge.
General admission is $35 and includes standing room access (no reserved seats/spots), access to event restrooms, kids zone and static aircraft displays.
For more information, click here to visit the Central Coast AirFest official website.
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