Eight U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds sat in a row at the Gary/Chicago International Airport Thursday as a group of about 50 Civil Air cadets waited for them to begin a demonstration.
As in past years, the airport is the staging area for the Chicago Air & Water Show on Saturday and Sunday over Lake Michigan’s Chicago beaches near Lake Shore Drive.
The Thunderbirds are the main attraction but some of the young civil air cadets from Indiana and Illinois were anxious to glimpse the new F-22 Raptor, a stealth jet that can remain invisible on radar.
Cadet Ethan Gallagher, 17, of Chicago, has applied for admission at the U.S. Air Force Academy and he couldn’t wait to the Thunderbirds fly off the runway on Thursday.
“We want to show the cadets opportunities in the military and expand their options,” he said. “It’s awesome.”
The senior at Von Steuben High School said he hoped to see the F-22 but feared weather might keep it grounded.
Hannah Trute, 14, of Michigan City, wore ear plugs and covered her ears as the Thunderbirds’ engines came to life.
She’s not sure if her future holds the Air Force yet.
“Probably at some point. This is pretty cool,” she said.
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Hannah Durbin, a public affairs representative for the Thunderbirds, gave the students a briefing on the jets’ capabilities.
Located at 6001 Airport Road, the airport will host public viewing events between from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Public viewing areas are available in designated airport parking areas each day, and parking is available for $20 per car load. Food vendors will be on-site.
The Chicago show also features a C-17, the USMC F-35B Lightning II, the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team and a variety of historic and modern military aircraft.
“The Chicago Air & Water Show is one of the Midwest’s most anticipated summer traditions, and GCIA offers a very unique way to view it,” said Dan Vicari, executive director of GCIA.
“For aviation enthusiasts, families and photographers, there really is no better place to watch the planes participating in the air show while allowing us to demonstrate the importance of GCIA in Chicago’s aviation system,” Vicari said in a release.
Gary canceled its air show that was planned for Aug. 21-23 at Marquette Park due to storm damage and the necessity of using public safety resources in the recovery.
“The City relies heavily on mutual aid from neighboring communities to supplement emergency response personnel, and those resources are currently stretched to their limits as communities throughout the region respond to the storm as call volumes have doubled since Tuesday,” Gary said in a Friday statement.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter at the Post-Tribune.