Plans begin for air show
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on January 11, 2015 1:50 AM
The USAF Thunderbirds will headline this year's Wings Over Wayne Air Show.
Wayne County residents -- and tourists -- are in for a roaring good time when jets of all kinds hit Seymour Johnson Air Force Base during this year's Wings Over Wayne air show, which is set for May 16-17.
Maj. James "Cuffs" Ladd, air show director, presented some of the details for this year's show to the members of the Goldsboro City Council during their work session Monday, as well as the Wayne County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.
The Black Daggers, a U.S. Army special operations unit, will make sure everyone in Goldsboro is wide awake when they open the show on Saturday, May 16, by parachuting into the base at 8 a.m.
The U.S. Air Force Honor Guard from Washington, D.C., also will help open the show.
Ladd said there will be B-1s, B-52s, F-35s, F-22s and F-15s putting on demonstrations both days.
And of course, the U.S. Air Force's Thunderbirds are coming.
"We're going to make sure it's an enjoyable experience from the time the gates open until the gates close," Ladd said.
Several lucky people selected by Seymour Johnson Air Force Base officials will be able to catch a private air show preview on Friday. The special guests will be invited to stand near the air field and watch all the acts practice.
Officials are already tweaking some of the plans for this year's show after some challenges from the last show in 2011.
One of those was parking, Ladd said.
The air show director said that handicapped parking was "overwhelmed" within 20 minutes of opening the gates. This year, the number of handicapped spaces has been tripled, which he said should take care of the problem.
Buses will be provided to transport air show attendees to and from their vehicles to events on base.
Ladd said the base will bring a lot of experience to this year's event. He was the director for the 2011 event, while 4th Fighter Wing Commander Col. Mark Slocum directed an air show in 2003.
And that means they will be prepared for anything -- even dicey weather.
"Last time we did this in 2011 we had 168 tornadoes touch down in North Carolina that weekend, but we accounted for those contingencies and were able to have a successful weekend," Ladd said. "We'll do the same for this air show."
Ladd said SJAFB is estimating 100,000 to 150,000 attendees per day. That would be a significant increase over the number of people who attended the 2011 event.
Travel and Tourism director Betsy Roseman said at least a third of visitors to the air show will stay overnight, with each spending an average of $165 per night.
That means if 300,000 people attend, and 100,000 of those are overnight visitors, Goldsboro and its local businesses would rake in $33 million over a single weekend, she said.
Both the Goldsboro City Council and the Wayne County Board of Commissioners donated $15,000 to the Wings Over Wayne show, and will receive a few perks in return.
They will be allowed to sponsor an event or activity during the show, and each will have their own tent. Both will also be provided a private chalet in which to entertain special and out-of-town guests.