Flying High Again

In a blitz of powder-blue smoke and ear-splitting noise, the Thunderbirds arrived Thursday--loudly announcing the return of the annual Point Mugu Air Show.

Grounded by financial problems last fall, air show organizers now have 100 planes converging on the Navy base and expect 200,000 spectators from across California to show up this weekend.

Energized by community support, they spent Thursday welcoming the Thunderbirds--the elite Air Force flying team and headlining act--and celebrating the show’s return to Ventura County.

“It’s an open house for the military,” said Capt. Stephen Beal, commander of the Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station. “And it’s our chance to meet the public.”

Sunny and clear skies, with temperatures in the middle to low 70s, are expected through the weekend. And organizers figure that the move to April lessens the chance of the midafternoon fog that has grounded the planes in recent years.

Point Mugu officials were forced to cancel the 35th annual show, originally scheduled for October; they cited shrinking federal military funds and difficulty in attracting a top aerobatic act. Local boosters then regrouped, soliciting donations from county corporations so they could host the show this spring.

In a first for Point Mugu, no federal money will be used to stage the event, organizers said.

Instead, the $150,000 show--free to the public--is being put on through sponsorships, concession stand sales and special seating deals. Don Lewis, a former Navy bomber pilot overseeing the air show, said 1,000 seats near the runway have already sold out at $25 apiece.

Meanwhile, workers Thursday were setting up carnival rides and clearing the runways.

Hoping to give the show broader appeal, organizers plan to use a hangar for a home show, featuring everything from bathtubs to lawn-care products.

But it’s the planes that people come to see, and this weekend will feature plenty of them--from vintage World War II-era models to modern jets like the sleek Air Force F-117 Nighthawk Stealth fighter. Also on display will be the Navy’s E-2C Hawkeye radar planes. A squadron of those is expected to be transferred from San Diego to Point Mugu this summer.

Gates open at 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, with the Thunderbirds scheduled for takeoff at 2:30 p.m. both days.

The team of F-16 fighters touched down Thursday afternoon after a 40-minute flight from Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, the team’s home.

Aside from the good weather, officials expect to get an attendance boost because the El Toro Air Show in Orange County, normally held in April, held its final show last year in anticipation of that base’s closure in 1999.

For Thunderbird pilot Brad Bartels, this show is special. Bartels, 33, grew up in Woodland Hills. His 89-year-old grandmother, who lives in Oxnard, is coming to see him perform.

“I think she’s really going to enjoy the show,” he said. “She’s never seen the Thunderbirds fly.”

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1998 Point Mugu Air Show Schedule

Events Saturday and Sunday:

8 a.m.: Gates open

8-9:30 a.m.: Radio-controlled airplane demonstrations and helicopter rides

9:30 a.m.: Confederate Air Force

10 a.m.: Bill Cornick aerobatics

10:15 a.m.: Confederate Air Force (CAF) Warbirds fly-bys

10:45 a.m.: E-2C “Hawkeye” VAW-116 fly-by

11 a.m.: Welcoming ceremonies / invocation, CAF fly-by (missing man formation), flag presentation by Navy SEALs

11:15 a.m.: T-37B “Tweety birds” fly-bys

11:20 a.m.: F-14 “Tomcat” demonstration by VF-101

11:40 a.m.: George Tuers and “Flashback”

11:50 a.m.: John Collver’s “Wardog”

12:05 p.m.: VX-9 bombing and strafing demo with AV-8B “Harrier II,” AH-1W “Super Cobra,” EA-6B “Prowler”

12:25 p.m.: Channel Islands Air National Guard C-130E “Hercules”

12:30 p.m.: Channel Islands Air National Guard pallet drop

12:40 p.m.: F-117A Stealth fighter (takeoff)

12:40 p.m.: Helicopter Combat Support Special Squadron 5 (HCS-5) and Navy SEALs demonstration

1:15 p.m.: F-15 “Eagle” demonstration by 33rd Fighter Wing

1:30 p.m.: F8F “Bearcat” demonstration

1:40 p.m.: F-117A Stealth fighter by 49th Fighter Wing

1:45 p.m.: Steve Stavrakakis “Wild Thing”

2 p.m.: Frank Ryder’s “ORECK XL” airplane

2:15 p.m.: Delmar Benjamin in his GeeBee

2:30 p.m.: Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron: Thunderbirds

For information, call 989-8786.