Gary Air Show back in the skies this weekend after six-year hiatus

Pilot Susan Dacy was armed with a bottle of window cleaner Friday outside the Gary Jet Center hangar at the Gary/Chicago International Airport as she put a finishing sparkle on Big Red, her 1942 Boeing Stearman biplane, while waiting for the Gary Air Show media day to begin.

The skies over Marquette Park Beach in Gary will buzz with activity once again Saturday and Sunday when the air show returns after a six-year hiatus.

“It’s really fun at a venue like this. You can show the whole spectrum of aviation,” Dacy said.

The show, put on in partnership by the Gary/Chicago International Airport, the city of Gary and the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority, will bring 10 aerial acts to the Lake Michigan shoreline in a display featuring military and private aircraft alike. Acts include the U.S. Air Force F-35 Demo Team, MiG-17s, T45s, the Golden Knights parachute team, Trojan Thunder, Bill Stein, Kevin Coleman, Rob Holland, Susan Dacy and Ed Hamil, said David Uran, president and CEO of the SSCVA.

The show takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days. Parking is $40 for the day or $60 for the two-day event. Along with the air show, there will be 20 food and craft vendors at Marquette Park.

Dacy has been flying “just shy of 50 years.” She grew up on a small airport her father, a military pilot, owned. She took her first solo flight at 16 and hasn’t looked back since. She plans to show how the 71-year-old, recently refurbished workhorse Big Red handles through a series of maneuvers including barrel rolls, kickbacks, and the hammer head turn, or stall turn — when the pilot flies the plane straight up, perpendicular to the ground “stalling” the plane before diving straight down.

It is those type of stunts that helped fuel the collectability of the plane. The popularity of the Boeing Stearman stems from the barnstorming days after World War II, when pilots would land in pastures and perform stunts to earn enough money to get back and fuel their plane, Dacy said. Participating in air shows carries on that tradition.

Dacy pointed to the competition aerobatic pilots who will take to the air individually and as a formation team as another exciting aspect of the show.

“These pilots are aerobatic champions,” Dacy said.

Former U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, the governor’s appointment to the airport authority board, was enjoying an up close look at the aircraft Friday during media day. He said bringing the event back to Gary “shows that people can both live in and visit the city and have a wonderful time.”

He said the event represents what the airport has to offer as it continues to make and plan for future investments in infrastructure including roadways and runway improvements.

“(The Air Show) is an inflection point for the city and the airport,” Visclosky said.

Dan Vicari, airport executive director, said they have been excited to be a part of the event and help bring it back to Gary. He echoed Visclosky the event creates an opportunity to showcase both the airport and the city.

“There’s been a lot of buzz in the community,” Vicari said.

On the military side of things, Sgt. Kristin Wolfe — call sign Beo Wolfe — will be piloting the F35 for the show. Wolfe currently is the lone F35 demo pilot in the Air Force, which commissions one demo pilot at a time for a two-year tour. She is in the second year of her tour.

“I’ve been all around the country. It’s exciting to be up in Gary. It’s a little more hometown,” Wolfe, a second-generation fighter pilot who followed in the footsteps of her father. “It’s really fun at a venue like this. You can show the whole spectrum of aviation.” She’s been flying with the Air Force for 12 years.

“It’s like flying a rollercoaster,” Wolfe described of being in control of the fighter jet.

Wolfe said she will perform a 15-minute routine with stunts like barrel rolls and inverted flight. She will also demonstrate the plane’s high-speed capacity, bringing it up to .95 Mach — “just under supersonic” — the fastest speed allowable for an air show, she said.

Wolfe also plans to perform a surprise demonstration of the aircraft’s tactical abilities for spectators.

“It will work well over the water,” she said.

Uran said response to bringing the air show back as been positive. Both the CVA and city of Gary put up $100,000 each to fund the event, a move that spurred more than 60 sponsors to join the effort. The event is expected to cost about $380,000.

Success depends on part on the weather. He said Saturday’s forecast appears cooperative and there does appear to be a window of time Sunday for the show to go on.

“The organization is about the fan experience,” Uran said.

A parking service will make the most out of the lots and fields at Marquette Park. Volunteers including Miller Street residents will be on hand to assist.

“Everyone is pushing in the right direction,” he said.