After weather clears, Fort Lauderdale Air Show thrills with aircraft from past and present | Photos

Fort Lauderdale — The skies over Fort Lauderdale beach began to rumble shortly after 11 a.m. on Saturday. It wasn’t thunder. The stormy weather had fortuitously vacated the area about an hour or so earlier.

This welcome rumbling was the reason thousands gathered on the sand, at businesses, and packed nearby roof tops, as the two-day 2022 Fort Lauderdale Air Show, which included 15 performers, was underway.

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The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds fly the F-16 Fighting Falcon during the Fort Lauderdale Air Show on Sunday, May 1, 2022. (John McCall /South Florida Sun Sentinel)

“They all came out pretty late because of the weather, but the crowds definitely came out in droves,” said Chris Dirato, director of public relations for the Fort Lauderdale Air Show.

Excitement began to grow along with the crowd as the sun began to peak through the brightening sky at about 11:30 a.m. A few aircraft made attention-grabbing flights about 15 minutes earlier, getting everyone excited.

The SOCOM (Special Operations Command) para-commandos didn’t get to do their thing due to the weather, but their show is scheduled to happen Sunday.

The highlight of the show might have been the Air Force Heritage Flight and the Navy Legacy Flight, both of which united planes of the past and present to represent where airplanes have been and where they’re going. The Air Force had the A-10 Warthog with the P-51 Mustang. The Navy had the F-35 Lightning II along with the F/A 18 Hornet and the F4U Corsair.

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The Air Force Reserve F-16 Fighting Falcons started Saturday’s festivities. They were followed by an impressive and dazzling array of air power and aerial feats that included the Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II Demo Team, Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey, Florida Air Guard F-15 Eagles, a Coast Guard Search and Rescue Demo, Navy F-35C Lightning II Demo, F-18F Super Hornet Demo, and Air Force Thunderbirds.

There were weather concerns before the show’s start. Rain pummeled the area in the early-morning hours, causing parts of State Road A1A to experience temporary flooding.

However, enthusiasm never dampened among spectators as they packed the beach along with their chairs, umbrellas, coolers, and good vibes. Between noon and 12:30 p.m., the slow-arriving, weather-aware crowd eventually filled sidewalks, bars, restaurants, hotels, apartments, condos and anywhere else that had available real estate, especially on upper-level floors.

All the branches of service were represented in Saturday’s show, which was more heavily military than previous shows, according to Dirato.

“People love that,” Dirato said. “You get a chance to see our finest, and how they protect our freedom every day.”

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Friday’s precursor to Saturday’s start of the Air Show was supposed to be a tease that included the Air Force Thunderbirds taking hero bus driver Gwendolyn Whitfield up for a flight. But the ride was canceled for unspecified reasons. Whitfield, a Broward County Transit bus driver, was honored as a hero and awarded a Medal of Valor on April 5. Her actions likely saved many lives after a man shot and killed two people and wounded two others on her bus.

The Fort Lauderdale Air Show concludes Sunday. It starts at 11:15 a.m. and, as was the case Saturday, it can be viewed here on a livestream.

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