MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. – Flying activity increases this week over the Air Capital with the arrival of aircraft for the 2024 Frontiers in Flight Airshow at McConnell AFB. according to a media release from the air base.
Tuesday and Wednesday, most of McConnell’s aircraft will leave the base for other locations for the week, to perform missions off-station while also making room for airshow activities and setup.
Wednesday marks the arrival of Doc at McConnell. That B-29 Superfortress arrives at approximately 2 p.m. and will be part of the center display for the airshow, along with two KC-135 Stratotankers and two KC-46 Pegasus tankers McConnell.
On Thursday, the Blue Angels arrive at approximately 10 a.m. In addition, a majority of the Airshow’s other aircraft are slated to arrive throughout the day on Thursday. Several of those aircraft are expected to spend extra time flying around the Air Capital, as the base and FAA have worked to open local airspace up to a 10-mile radius around the Dole VA Center, to include the Children’s Hospital, for the pilots to spend time familiarizing themselves with the terrain.
Also on Thursday, at approximately 10:30 p.m., three Army helicopters from Fort Riley are scheduled to arrive, but only after performing night navigation missions en-route to McConnell. The helicopters will be on ground display for the airshow.
On Friday, several small aircraft will arrive from Stearman Field, between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. The airshows aerial performers will conduct a practice airshow starting at noon that day, with the Blue Angels taking to the skies at 3 p.m.
On Saturday and Sunday, flying activities begin at noon, and the Blue Angels will again take to the skies at 3 p.m. each day. The airshow runs August 24-25, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at McConnell Air Force Base, with both admission and parking being free.
All attendees over the age of 18 are required to present a state- or federal government-issued photo ID for entry, such as a driver’s license or passport. Non-U.S. citizen over the age of 18 can use a passport or permanent resident alien card for entry.
Guests are allowed and encouraged to bring their own drinking water in a non-glass container, filled, to use and refill throughout the day to help prevent heat injuries.
There will be free water fill locations in the general public parking lot and on the airshow ramp for refilling personal water containers. Those locations are marked on the map, along with cooling tents, port-a-potties and first aid stations.
Distances
General Parking
Parking will be provided off-base, in the fields owned by Cessna, north of McConnell, west of Rock Road and south of Pawnee Street. Distance from the regular parking area to the airshow entrance is approximately 0.5 miles. As such, the base has organized busses to be available at the center of the general parking area to transport people to and from there and the airshow entrance (Entry #1 on the Airshow map). These distances, combined with the typical August temperatures in Kansas and the heat-amplifying effects of concrete runways make hydration especially important for airshow attendees and staff.
Accessibility Parking
Accessibility parking is available by filling out the following form online: https://www.frontiersinflight.com/guestinfo#accessibility
Those who are approved for this parking will be e-mailed a parking pass, which they will have to print out. That pass will enable parking at select locations on base.
Lost Children
For those bringing small children, wristbands are available at the entry points to the flightline, to allow adults to write a phone number on the band and put it on the child’s wrist. Should the adults and children become separated, that phone number will facilitate a quick reunion with their adults. The Lost Child RV will be located near the Kids Zone and close to the Boeing Dreamlifter. The Dreamlifter will be the largest aircraft on the ramp, on the north end of the runway area and near the STEAM and Kid Zones. Changing stations and a dedicated nursing area will also be nearby.
Allowed & Prohibited Items
A full list of items that guests are allowed to bring, as well as a list of prohibited items, is available at the airshow website, www.frontiersinflight.com
Aerial Performance Times
Aerial performances begin at noon each day. The headline act, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, takes to the skies at approximately 3 p.m. each day of the airshow.
Aerial Performers
The confirmed aerial performers for the airshow are:
- Blue Angels F/A-18 Super Hornets
- Fat Albert (Blue Angels support C-130J Super Hercules)
- F-35 Lightning Demo Team
- P-51 Heritage Flight
- 2x A-10 Thunderbolt II Formation Demo
- Tora Tora Tora
- “Swamp Fox” P-51
- Twin Beech 18 “Matt Younkin”
- Havilland D.H. 115 “Vampire”
- Bill Stien “Edge 540”
- Tom Larkin “Mini Jet”
- Brian Correll “Pitts II”
- KC-135/KC-46 Refuel Demo
- Precision Exotics “Super Cars”
Clydesdales
The Budweiser Clydesdales hitch is scheduled to make an appearance at 11:30 a.m., each day of the airshow.
Aircraft on Display
The confirmed aircraft on static display are shown on the airshow map, current as of its publication date. Those aircraft on display will be:
- Doc B-29 Superfortress
- KC-135 Stratotankers
- KC-46 Pegasus
- Fat Albert (C-130J Super Hercules)
- A-10 Thunderbolt IIs
- F-15 Eagles
- F-16 Fighting Falcons
- F-22 Raptors
- F-35 Lightning IIs
- B-1 Lancer
- B-52 Stratofortress
- Navy P-8 Poseidon
- C-17 Globemaster III
- RC-135 Rivet Joint
- T-38 Talons
- T-6 Texans
- T-1A Jayhawk
- T-41 Mescalero (Cessna 172)
- T-53A Kadet II (Cirrus SR-20)
- Boeing Dreamlifter
- A-26 Invader “Lady Liberty”
- LearJet 36A – Around the world record holder
- Stearman Biplanes
Army Displays:
Wichita’s military presence is more than just Air Force, with a number of Reserve and Guard units in the area from across the military branches. The largest of these locally is the Army Reserve’s 451st Expeditionary Sustainment Command, which is headquartered here. The 451st ESC has coordinated the appearance of several Army aviation and ground assets at the event, bringing a little extra steel and firepower for visitors to see. These will include:
- Light Medium Tactical Vehicle
- High-Mobility, Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV)
- Joint Light Tactical Vehicle
- UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter
- HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter
- CH-47 Chinook helicopter
Click here for more information on the air show