The Cocoa Beach Air Show soars back to the Space Coast this weekend

The Cocoa Beach Air Show is back and is soaring into the Space Coast tomorrow, Saturday, April 15 and Sunday, April 16, 2023.

This year you can look forward to the AMAZING Air Force Thunderbirds, an A-10 Thunderbolt II Demo, the marvelous Douglas C-47 Tico Bell, and many more!

While you’ll be able to see the show all around the area for FREE, three special event locations will be available to experience the Cocoa Beach Air Show: Flight Line Club VIP, Sand Boxes and Drop Zone Beach.

Grab the good seats and get your tickets today, or catch the show for free.

The viewing area to catch the show for free is centered at Lori Wilson Park off State Road A1A, with the air show's viewing area across two miles of sand from the Westgate Cocoa Beach Pier to Minutemen Causeway.

Opening ceremonies kick off Saturday at 11 am, and in case of late-afternoon rain, flight performances should start early at 11:15 am rather than 11:30 am, with The Thunderbirds scheduled to perform from 2 pm to 2:45 pm.

Organizers recommend that spectators leave 45 minutes to an hour early as the roads around Cocoa will be very busy, and it could be difficult to find parking.

Also, at the end of each day, significant exiting traffic means that it may take 1-2 hours to depart from the area.

Drivers are asked to please be patient and abide by all instructions provided by the Florida State Troopers and parking attendants on site to guide guests.

Check out who's flying, here is some of the highlights of the flyers for the weekend!

U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds

Plan a trip to Florida’s Space Coast for a spectacular weekend with a combination of formation and solo maneuvers in an inspiring, patriotic, high energy demonstration. The four-jet diamond performs precision formation flight with the aircraft wingtips as close as 4 feet apart while performing loops, inverted rolls and even high performance turns! The two solo jets perform high energy maneuvers together and from opposite directions closing in on each other as fast as 1,000 mph. The six jets come together in the delta formation as the finale for the show, flying difficult formations and signature breaks that fill the sky with speed, sound and smoke trails!

A-10 Thunderbolt II Demo

The A-10 Thunderbolt II better known as the "Warthog" is a single-pilot attack aircraft designed for short takeoffs and landings from primitive airfields. The A-10 can operate nearly anywhere and provide ground troops with close air support. The entire aircraft was largely designed around its nose gun, a 30 mm Avenger cannon. The seven-barrel rotary cannon measures nine feet long and fires 30mm armor-piercing shells at a rate of nearly 4,000 rounds per minute. As a result it has been given the nickname “Tank killer”. The Avenger cannon also represents over 15 percent of the aircraft's weight. When the gun is removed for maintenance, the A-10's tail must be supported to keep the nose from tipping up.

Douglas C-47 TICO Bell

The Douglas C-47 was a direct militarized variant of the Douglas DC-3 airliner. First flying on December 23rd, 1941, a mere sixteen days after the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor. "Tico Belle" is a flying memorial to the men who flew her into combat. On June 5, 1944, she was one of the hundreds of C-47s that flew across the English Channel on D-Day, dropping members of the 82ndAirborne behind enemy lines.

John Black

John Black flies his Super Decathlon to the edge of the envelope putting on an dynamic display and showing what you can really make an over-the-wing airplane do! John learned to fly at just 17 and his first aerobatic lesson was in the very same type of plane he flies for his air show performance. A retired Air Force pilot, John currently flies the P-51 Mustang, L-39, and AT-6 when he’s not gracing the skies and wowing crowds with his show stopping performance!

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