At a Glance:
◾ Gates open at 9 a.m.
◾Opening ceremonies start at 10 a.m.
◾Admission and parking are free in designated areas.
◾Times and performances are subject to change.
WHAT TO KNOW: The #ThunderOverGeorgia2019 air show is going to be action packed this year! Make sure to bookmark www.robins.af.mil/airshow for all the latest – from performers to tips and parking. Mark your calendars now for Sept. 28 and 29, 2019. Find out more on the Robins Air Force Base website at: https://www.robins.af.mil, and you can follow the air show on Facebook at facebook.com/RobinsPublicAffairs.
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. – Team Robins is opening its gates Sept. 28 and 29 to anyone – including a vampire or two.
The show, which will feature the renowned U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and F-22 demonstration teams, will also feature civilian acts to help keep the action moving.
Vampire Air Shows is one of those acts, and it’s set to keep the crowd on its feet, their eyes focused on the sky.
“Vampire Airshows’ mission and our Airshow is about the merging of entertainment and education,” according to the team’s website at https://vampireairshows.simdif.com/the-vampire.html. “The Vampire brings speed, noise, Jet Warbird aerobatics and a profile that grabs the audiences’ attention.”
While Jerry "Vlad" Conley flies the aircraft, his banter with the announcer draws the crowd into learning about the aircraft. The aircraft is fully aerobatic performing rolls, Cuban eights, shark tooths, inverted flight, high speed passes, and all with a killer smoke system.
The website proudly points out that “The Vampire, being the beginning of all modern jet aviation, is truly inspiring to watch fly.”
ABOUT THE AIRCRAFT
A crowd favorite at every air show they participate in, the team flies the de Havilland DH-115, an aircraft suitable for combat that harnessed the new innovation of jet propulsion; it was quickly decided to opt for a single-engine, twin-boom aircraft equipped with the Halford H.1 turbojet engine, which was later known as the de Havilland Goblin.
Originally ordered as an experimental aircraft only, the decision to mass-produce the aircraft as an interceptor for the Royal Air Force was finalized in May 1944.
In 1946, the first production aircraft entered service with the RAF, months after the conflict had come to a close. The Vampire was the second jet fighter, after the Gloster Meteor, operated by the RAF, and it was the service's first to be powered by a single jet engine. The Vampire was quickly used to replace many wartime piston-engine fighter aircraft. The RAF operated it as a front-line fighter until 1953. About 3,300 Vampires were manufactured.
Editor’s note: All acts are subject to change.