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Date: 2/8/2023
WESTFIELD — The first planes and attractions have been revealed for the 2023 Westfield International Air Show, and viewers will be able to get a glimpse of one of the advanced fighter jets that Westfield’s 104th Fighter Wing is vying to acquire.
After having been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2021, the air show is returning May 13 and 14, and will feature an appearance from the F-35A Lightning II, one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world. The Air National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing is hoping for an upgrade from their aging F-15C fleet, and Barnes is one of four bases across the United States in the running to receive either the F-35A or the F-15EX.
The F-35A is part of a series of the newest fifth generation fighters to be adopted by the U.S. Air Force, and is designed to serve as a multi-role stealth air-to-air and air-to-ground fighter jet.
Staff Sgt. Randy Burlingame, spokesperson for the 104th, said that the list of aircraft and demonstrations that will be appearing at the airshow is not yet complete, but at this time the F-15EX is not slated to make an appearance.
As the 104th Air Wing still uses its F-15Cs, which can be seen and heard in the skies over Westfield on a daily basis.
They too will make an appearance flying over their home airfield for the show.
Burlingame also confirmed that the Westfield show will not feature appearances from either the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels or the U.S. Air Force’s Thunderbirds, two of the most famous stunt flight teams, as they are already committed to other events on those days. An act that will be present is Kyle Franklin’s Flying Circus, which is described as “airshow comedy.”
A New England native will also take to the skies for stunt flights with Rob Holland’s Ultimate Airshow, in which Holland displays aerial acrobatics in his MXS-RH plane.
Another modern fighter that is confirmed to appear is the F/A-18 Hornet, which was introduced into the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy fleet in the 1980s, and is beginning to be retired from service.
For almost as long as airplanes have existed, there have also been people willing to jump out of them. Several teams will demonstrate different styles of jumps, including the U.S. Army Golden Knights, the Liberty Jump Team, and the Wings of Blue Jump Team.
Multiple World War II-era aircraft will be on display and in the air as well, including the C-47s used by the Liberty Jump Team, and “The Placid Lassie,” a C-47 that took part in D-Day and Operation Market Garden.
In addition to planes in the sky, there will also be demonstrations and attractions to see up close.
“There will be aircraft on the ground with pilots and maintainers on hand, talking about everything they do,” said Burlingame.
Some of those aircraft include the F-35, the AH-64 Apache helicopter used mainly by the U.S. Army, and the A-10 air-to-ground fighters that preceded the F-15C as the fleet of the 104th.
While the airshow itself is free for all to attend, Burlingame said that $20 per car will be charged for parking this year, instead of free parking as in previous years.
“We had to switch to paid parking because we lost a lot of space to the solar field,” said Burlingame.
VIP tickets are available for $180, which includes front-row access to the staging area. For more information or to buy tickets and parking passes, visit westfieldairshow.org.