Cliff Robinson in his Stearman aerobatic plane will be part of Warsaw’s Air Show, coming Aug. 15-16. (Photo courtesy of cliffrobinsonaerobatics.com)

This year’s two-day air show in Warsaw is set for Friday and Saturday, Aug. 15-16, at the Warsaw Municipal Airport. On tap as part of the event is a concert, airplane rides and many more family friendly happenings.

The goal of this year’s air show is to honor veterans and it begins at 3 p.m. Friday with pre-air show performance practices and the opening of the C-54 “Candy Bomber” for tours. (The Candy Bomber will not be open from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.)

From 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. the heat turns up with plane v. car races, followed by music from the 1970s by The Time Travelers beginning at 7:30 p.m., a balloon glow at dusk and an aerobatic performance by Alan Hoover in a Stearman plane.

Airplane, balloon and helicopter rides will be provided on a first-come first-serve basis Friday evening and also on Saturday. Early morning balloon flights will start at 7 a.m. Saturday with as many as 10 hot air balloons participating. A portion of the proceeds of the show will be donated to veterans through Hoosiers Helping Heroes. Proceeds from air show T-shirt and hat sales will help Housing Opportunities of Warsaw.

Aircraft arrivals and static displays will begin at 7 a.m. and last until noon Saturday. At 10 a.m. there will be a model aircraft demonstration and the air show performances will be held from noon to 4 p.m. The kickoff is to feature skydivers carrying the American flag as they parachute down to the airport at noon sharp.

In a re-enactment of the Berlin airlift, a four-engine C-54 “Candy Bomber” will drop Hersey bars with parachutes from the sky as part of the warbird review. The review will also feature World War II fighter and trainer aircraft including the Hooligans Flight Team featuring the T-34 “Mentor” and L-17 “Navion,” a P-51, T-6 Texan, Stearman and the Yak-52 Formation Team.

Multiple aerobatic performances will feature pilots Paul Grossnickle and Alan Hoover in a Stearman, Bob “Pitts Bob” Richards with his Pitts S1S, Cliff Robinson with a 500 hp Stearman, Ralph Lutes in his Air Tractor, Patrick McAlee in a Pitts S1S “Blue Demon,” Alan Hoover with a Staudacher S300, Dave Folk in an F-4U Corsair, and the Commemorative Air Force/Glider Demo of a PT-26 Tow Ship.

Other aircraft, as well as crop dusting and glider demonstrations, will fill out the afternoon. Jet flybys are scheduled to conclude the show by 4 p.m. with the event concluding at 6 p.m.

Aircraft displays, kids activities, food and aviation vendors will be available both Friday and Saturday and admission is free. To see a complete list of events, click HERE.

For more information, to donate, or volunteer, visit airshowofwarsaw.com.