The skies above Northwest Indiana will be rumbling this weekend with the turbocharged engines of military and acrobatic planes performing at this weekend’s Chicago Air and Water Show.
The Gary/Chicago International Airport has served as the staging area — for takeoffs, landings, parking and fueling — for flight acts since 1999. Airport officials said the event bolsters its profile as it tries to attract commercial, private and general aviation business in the wake of the opening of its expanded runway.
On June 25, the airport officially opened its 8,900-foot runway, which provides an extra 1,900 feet of landing space. The $174 million project started in 2011 because of local leaders wanting to attract viable commercial airlines to the airport and a federal mandate that required 1,000-foot safety areas at the end of each runway.
Interim airport Director Dan Vicari said the Gary Jet Center, one of the airport’s fixed operators, has served as an effective host for years.
“The show attracts visitors and acts from around the world, and now we’re able to feature the runway, which is great,” Vicari said. “We’re aggressively working to pitch what the airport has to offer and attract new customers. They’re excited to be here, and we’re excited to have them.”
Some of the reasons Gary was picked as a staging area back in 1999 was a lack of aviation traffic compared to Midway and O’Hare and the fact that it takes planes like the F-18s flown by Navy Blue Angels only three minutes to get to the lakefront performance area.
But Gary’s flight operations continue to increase on a monthly basis — they were up 37 percent in July 2015 compared to July 2014, according to airport General Manager Delbert Brown. On Monday, Brown said some of the increase was due in part to serving as a base for aviation acts during the Gary Air Show, but he said it also reflected the overall upward trend at the airport.
With air show practices, things can get a bit harried sometimes, Vicari said, recalling an Immigration and Customs Enforcement plane that landed during Gary Air Show practice and the runway grand opening July 10.
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“It’s what keeps us crazy busy right now,” Vicari said. “We’re trying to fit being a regular airport alongside the air show operations.”
Whenever military acts are at the airport, special safety braking systems are installed at the end of the runways in case of emergency landings. If a plane would land, it drops a hook onto a cable that helps slow a plane down, similar to what happens on aircraft carriers.
Vicari said the Canadian National railroad berm, which blocked the expansion of the runway for several years, used to be a concern for several acts.
“With the F-18 flown by the Blue Angels before, there were always questions,” Vicari said. “It was definitely something they needed to keep in back in their minds. Now it’s not there and it makes things easier.”
Amid all of the landings and takeoffs this weekend, work continues at the east end of the main runway and on other parts of the airport property. On Aug. 18, the east end of the runway will shut down for 36 hours while old markings are sandblasted off, new markings are painted on and new lighting is installed.
“As of Aug. 20, both ends of the runway will satisfy the mandate, months before the Dec. 31 deadline,” Vicari said.