The Chicago Air and Water Show takes place along the lakefront this weekend. The performers are in town, staging at the Gary Airport.
They’ll be rehearsing on Friday.
The headliners this year are last year’s headliners, the Air Force Thunderbirds.
“Last year was my favorite show that I’ve ever done, so I’m really excited to be back in Chicago,” said Maj. Josh Burress, call sign Shadow, during an interview in front of the F-16 he flies, Thunderbird Number Two.
Kris Habermehl
He’s the left wing of the diamond formation.
“So I will look right during the entire demonstration. I look forward a total of five times and one of those times is when I land.”
His eyes are on “the Boss,” Thunderbird number one.
He says they operate under “blind trust,” putting all of their trust in the boss.
“The flying, itself, is unbeatable here,” Maj. Burress said. “You’re flying around the most beautiful skyline in the world, in my opinion, and then you’re over Lake Michigan, so it’s just, every part of the experience being here is the best.”
Burress is in his second and last year with the team. It’s a two-year assignment. He’ll be going back to combat flying after the season.
One of the few women in the air show industry is Susan Dacy, from Harvard, Illinois.
She flies a 450 horsepower Super Stearman bi-plane she calls “Big Red,” dating to the 1940s. The plane has been rebuilt and modified.
Dacy is a barnstormer.
“My airplane is kind of a kickback, kind of the romance, the early days of aviation,” she said, “what we called at that time barnstorming aerobatics. Many decades ago, the pilots would go and basically fly from field to field, usually near a county fair kind of thing with a crowd of people and sell rides.”
Another performer with local ties is Ed Hammill, who flies the “Folds of Honor" bi-plane.
He was raised in Park Ridge, Illinois.
“I attended Glenbrook North High School and the Chicago Air and Water Show is where I went, at 14-years-old, that inspired me to follow a career in aviation,” Hammill told WBBM.
Kris Habermehl
“I fly the Folds of Honor bi-plane to raise awareness for Folds of Honor. They’ve been around since 2007. Since 2007 they’ve given scholarships to the families of fallen and disabled military and first responders. 73,000 scholarships worth $340,000,000.”
Hammill said this school year the non-profit will be awarding more 15,000 scholarships.
He’s a retired Air Force Colonel.
“I’m just helping to give back to the families that have given so much to us.”
