Air Show promises big planes, show

The Duluth Air Show promises to be the largest in Minnesota this year. Muscling their way in, among other sleek and small aircraft, at the Air Show on Sept. 22 and Sept. 23 will be several beefier aircraft.

Air Show attendees will have an opportunity to view five of largest aircraft in the United States:

• The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s.

• Fed Ex will have on display one of its Boeing 757 aircraft, Boeing’s largest single-aisle passenger aircraft.

• The C-130 Hercules are older aircraft but have proven their worth as cargo and war planes in the skies during several conflicts and humanitarian relief operations.

• The North American B-25 Mitchell is a medium bomber used widely by U.S. forces in World War II, serving in the famous “Doolittle Raid” against Japan in 1942, the United States’ first strike against Japan after Pearl Harbor.

• The C-5 Galaxy cargo aircraft is aptly named as it is one of the largest aircraft in the world. This aircraft provides the U.S. Air Force with heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability.

“I have flown on most of the Air Force cargo and re-fueling planes during my military career, but the C-5 was unique,” Dave Boe of the Duluth Air Show said. “How that behemoth got into the air with all that weight, and its own size, is a mystery, but it did. It’s a testament to its design and structure, and to its Air Force pilots.”

Ryan Kern, president of the Duluth Air Show, says placing all these large aircraft will be a challenge, but it can be done. “We have had our operations group working these types of logistics for more than 12 years, and we have managed to get things arranged rather well,” said Kern. “The C-5 has been our biggest challenge to date, but we are confident it will fit — barely.”

It, and all the other aircraft, deserves to be at the air show because each has a story to tell, big or small.

For information on these aircraft and others that will be at the Duluth Airshow on Sept. 22-23 featuring the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, visit duluthairshow.com

Tags: entertainment, community, military, transportation, duluth