After a one-year absence due to COVID-19, the Bethpage Air Show will hit Long Island again this year to kick off the Memorial Day holiday.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the air show at Jones Beach State Park will return as a ticketed event, with reduced capacity and social distancing measures to ensure a safe return of the longtime Long Island beachfront tradition.
The air show will officially take place this Memorial Day weekend, Saturday, May 29, and Sunday, May 30 with a practice date usually held at Republic Airport on May 28th. The show will run from 10AM to 3PM on both days.
The show will feature the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, the United States Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt (Warthog), United States Army Golden Knights U.S. Army parachute team, and United States Coast Guard Search and Rescue team, as well as several civilian performers.
Despite the obvious skill level required of the pilots taking part in the Bethpage Air Show, the pilots don’t just show up and buzz the beach at random. Air shows are run by someone known as an “air boss,” and in the case of the Bethpage Air Show, the man in charge is Wayne Boggs.
Boggs, a former Marine, has been flying since 1973 and was working as an air traffic controller in Chicago during the 1980s when the Federal Aviation Administration appointed him as a representative to a Chicago air show. As the air boss, Boggs controls the event air space and monitors other nearby active aviation, as well as running the runways, taxiways and all the demonstration areas.
“After a challenging year, Bethpage is proud to work with State Parks to ensure air show fans of all ages can enjoy a beautiful day at the beach and honor our nation’s military this Memorial Day weekend,” said Wayne Grosse, CEO of Bethpage Federal Credit Union.
For more information, visit the show website www.bethpageairshow.com