For the first time in five years, the Thunderbirds, the Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, will headline the Little Rock Air Force Base Air Show, which is set for Oct. 9-10 next year.
This is the Thunderbirds’ first performance here since 2005. The team has local ties to the area; Hot Springs native Maj. Rick Goodman flies the team’s Opposing Solo as Thunderbird No. 6 and Capt. (Dr.) Thomas Bowden, a former base flight surgeon, is now the team’s flight surgeon, or Thunderbird No. 9.
The open house gives the base the opportunity to showcase its mission as the world’s largest C-130 training base and dazzle spectators with amazing aerial and ground events from all branches of the U.S. armed forces from varying eras.
In what is known as a “combat capabilities” exercise, the base’s own C-130 aircraft will show what they do in combat: paratroopers will jump in an exciting display of military power and they’ll drop heavy equipment and other cargo.
The 2010 open house and air show also coincides with the base’s 55th year of existence in central Arkansas. The base officially opened Oct. 9, 1955. Little Rock Air Force Base pumps more than half a billion dollars annually into the local economy.
The open house and air show are free and open to the public. Base officials anticipate more than 200,000 people will attend the October event.
Updates to the 2010 open house schedule, including the air show line up, can be found at www.littlerock.af.mil.
For more information about the Thunderbirds, visit http://thunderbirds.airforce.com.
