Field of Flight Air Show begins, promising ‘insane maneuvers’

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (WOOD) — The 2024 Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival is officially underway at Battle Creek Executive Airport.

The five-day event is expected to bring around 150,000 visitors from all over to Battle Creek.

“It’s three weekends to work to try to get this whole thing set up. So when we see all the people and it’s packed out here and everybody’s enjoying, that makes it all worth the while for us,” said Barbara Haluszka, executive director of the air show.

It features family fun like a carnival and vendors, but the stars of the show are the jet planes.

Wednesday, performers such as the U.S. Navy’s Rhino Demo Team gave a glimpse at what their F-18 fighter can do.

“What you can expect is a lot of noise and a lot of speed. We’re going to push the jet to the edge of its operating envelope,” said Lt. Joseph Rooney, a U.S. Navy Rhino Demonstration Team pilot.

Rooney said it’s not only an opportunity to excite the crowd, but also a chance to educate them.

“We usually do most of our work out in the middle of the ocean with no crowd, so half the time when people come here, they’re like, ‘Oh, the Air Force.’ And we’re like, ‘Actually, Navy.’ And they didn’t even know the Navy had planes,” Rooney said. “So to be able to come and demonstrate the F-18 as well as interact with the crowd during the time that we have is really eye-opening for them.”

Also at the Air Show are the United States Air Force Thunderbirds.

“The Thunderbird team is comprised of 130 people from 30 different jobs, across the Air Force, and we represent the nearly 700,000 airmen stationed all across the globe,” said Dakota Carter, who works in public affairs for the USAF Thunderbirds.

If you’ve never seen the Thunderbirds’ precise movements in the sky, Carter said you’re in for quite a show.

“It’s six F-16 Fighting Falcons that will go into the sky and fly as close as 18 inches apart while performing some very insane maneuvers,” Carter said.

She added that the Thunderbirds’ pilots prepare year-round for events like this week’s and want the crowd to draw inspiration from their teamwork and training.

“Each of these pilots, they started somewhere. They weren’t born knowing how to fly an F-16, and it took a lot of hard work to get to where they are. I hope everyone watching this is also motivated to go off and do great things in their communities,” Carter said.

The Field of Flight Air Show will continue through Sunday.

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