Summer Celebration Announces Air Show Performers!

SUMMER CELEBRATION AIR SHOW HOSTS A VARIETY OF
HIGH FLYING PERFORMERS
JUNE 26-27, 2010


Muskegon Summer Celebration reaches new heights in 2010 with a two-day air show over Muskegon Lake which makes Heritage Landing the ideal location to enjoy the show June 26-27.

“We know West Michigan loves an air show and we’re pleased to incorporate some great high-flying acts into this year’s Summer Celebration lineup,” festival Executive Director Joe Austin said. “The show is part of an exciting first weekend highlighted by Sunday night’s Toby Keith performance.”

Seven different aircraft, ranging from wing-walker Ashley Battles strapped to a 450 Stearman to the F-16 Fighting Falcon, will perform both Saturday June 26 and Sunday June 27 beginning at 12:30 p.m for an approximately.

Show organizers have a wide variety of aircraft demonstrations, performances and flyovers scheduled. Additional military support are still seeking additional military support. Aircraft scheduled to fly include:

F-16 West Coast Demonstration Team"Viper West"--The 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah is home to the Viper West Coast Demonstration Team, one of two single ship F-16 aerial demonstration teams in Air Combat Command. The F-16 Fighting Falcon, more commonly known to military pilots as the Viper, is a compact, extremely maneuverable multi-role fighter aircraft. For more information visit viperwest.hill.af.mil.
B-25 Mitchell Bomber of World War II--The DAV Airshow Outreach Program featuring the B-25 Mitchell Bomber of World War II notoriety appears nationwide at over 25 airshows and reaches over 2.7 million airshow spectators annually. The DAV Airshow Outreach Program was developed to increase public awareness of disabled veterans and to serve veterans in communities across the nation. The B-25 Bomber enjoys the reputation of achieving the impossible during one of America’s darkest hours in World War II. The medium size bomber was made famous by the daring Doolittle Raid on Tokyo which helped rally America after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The B-25 went on to become the most versatile bomber of World War II, seeing combat in every theater of operation. For more information on the Disabled American Veterans, visit the DAV website at www.dav.org.
A-10 Thunderbolt II, 47th Fighter Squadron, 917th Wing, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana--The A-10 Thunderbolt II, affectionately known as the Warthog, is an extremely maneuverable close air support aircraft specialized in anti-tank warfare. Known for its massive GAU-8A 30mm Avenger Cannon in the nose, the A-10 carries 1,174 rounds of depleted uranium ammunition and can fire those rounds at an impressive 3,900 rounds per minute. The A-10 can also carry 16,000 lbs of munitions on 11 external hardpoints. For more information, visit www.917wg.afrc.af.mil
United States Coast Guard Search and Rescue Demonstration--A crowd favorite, the Coast Guard search and rescue team will demonstrate their skills. The HH-65C Dolphin helicopter team is out of U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Detroit, assigned to Muskegon for the summer season. For more information, visit www.uscg.mil/d9/airstaDetroit/PCStoDetroit.asp
Team MS760 Aerobatics --Team MS760 Aerobatics is a new two-ship civilian jet act. Captain Dale “Snort” Snodgrass, and Team MS760 Wingman is Lt. Colonel Jerry “Jive” Kerby fly the Morane-Saulnier 760, a four-seat, twin-engine, pressurized personal jet aircraft. The MS760 was designed, manufactured, and certified in France in the 1960’s for the French Air Force as a Liaison and Utility turbojet aircraft with full aerobatic capability. For more information visit the Web site at www.teamms760.com or the Team MS760 facebook page.
Billy Werth and his Pitts S2C--Growing up in an Air Force family, Billy has been around some sort of airplane his whole life. Billy has over 6000 hours of flight time in 20 different aircraft, with 600 of it teaching folks how to fly upside down. The performance starts off with a little bit of kid-type-fun to help bring the audience into the show a little more. A few kids from the audience help with the announcing for a few passes. The show finishes with some high-energy, hard-core aerobatic maneuvers to keep the crowd excited and on their feet. For more information, visit www.grayout.com.
Greg Shelton Barnstorming in his Stearman Bi Plane--Shelton’s interest in aviation began at an early age watching Borate Bombers in Northern California and listening to his father’s adventures of flying fighters in the U.S. Navy. The 1943 Super Stearman, the plane Shelton is flying in Muskegon, first served with the US Navy as an N2S-3 and was later converted to a 450 HP crop duster in the early 1950’s. In 1984, it was transformed into the colorful and entertaining show plane that you see today.
In 2003, when Greg Shelton decided to add a wing-walking act to his growing list of air show performances, he enlisted the talents of Ashley Battles to walk and ride the wings. Battles, a native of Augusta, Georgia had her passion for aviation lead her back to Tulsa, Oklahoma to pursue a career in flying. Ashley started flying at age 16 and wing walking at age 20. She has her grandfather to thank for her passion and dedication to the aviation industry. She hopes she will follow in his footsteps as a skilled and talented war bird pilot. For more information, visit www.gregsheltonairshows.com
Bill Stein--Bill began flying aerobatics when he was still a student pilot and has been dedicated to perfecting his skills ever since. Since 1995 Bill has performed at air shows all across the United States and has entertained millions air show fans. Bill’s experience includes competitive aerobatics and years of flying on the world famous Red Baron Stearman Squadron. His current airplane is the state-of-the-art Zivko Edge 540. For more information visit www.billsteinairshows.com
General admission tickets are just $8 each day, or $18 for a general admission pass and an all-you-can-ride Midway wristband. Festival goers with 10- or 11-day Pizza Hut Passes also gain a single-day ticket to the Air Show. Chalet and Executive Club seating is also available by visiting Star Tickets outlets in local Meijer stores or visiting their website, www.startickets.com.

For more information on the air show, visit www.summercelebration/air-show.