Fort Lauderdale Air Show is coming at ya: What to know about tickets, traffic and Thunderbirds

This weekend’s Fort Lauderdale Air Show is like last weekend’s Miami Grand Prix — just faster, louder, and you can be certain an American will win this time. 

Featuring the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds back as headliners and the debut of the Ghost Squadron, the annual air show returns on Saturday and Sunday to fill the heavens with sonic rumbles and arcing contrails as hundreds of thousands of spectators scan the sky over the beach in Fort Lauderdale.

A display of American firepower and fortitude — lots of wings, but no chickens up there — the air show is also a showcase for evolving shoreline hospitality offerings in the city. 

With all due respect, this edition of the air show is, both from the pilot’s seat and your seat, the most spectacular setting in the six-city Air Dot Show tour. Other stops include Orlando; Atlanta and Augusta, Georgia; Orange County, New York; and Ocean City, Maryland. 

There are a variety of official and unofficial places to set down a lawn chair to catch the sights and sounds of the air show, which runs from a little before noon to about 3 p.m. both days. 

The event site, with ticketed space on the beach, is from the north side of Sunrise Boulevard to the Pelican Grand Beach Resort, where you’ll find luxe rooftop viewing. Basic access to this stretch of sand at Drop Zone Beach starts at $37.50+ per day, children (age 6 to 12) $26+ per day. Keep reading for other ticketed options. 

The “aerobatic box” for the Fort Lauderdale Air Show is a 2-mile site centered at Hugh Taylor Birch State Park. The U.S. Coast Guard’s safety zone for the show extends for a mile on the north and south side of the site, creating a 4-mile window for the incoming and outgoing swoop of jets, from Port Everglades to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. 

A new viewing perch this year is Nubé, an indoor-outdoor rooftop restaurant and lounge on the 26th floor of the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort. Located at 505 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., on the southern end of the air show flight plan, the panoramic view of the ocean at Nubé is unmatched.

Tim Petrillo, partner in local hospitality firm The Restaurant People, which opened Nubé last month, calls the air show a “wonderful” community event. 

“It is a great opportunity to witness firsthand the power and glory of our military,” Petrillo says. “Nubé is the only place on Fort Lauderdale beach that you have the ability to watch the performance at what feels like eye level.”

Nubé is taking reservations for two-hour table seatings during the air show, with a prepaid $100-per-person minimum for food and drink. For information, click on the bio at Instagram.com/nube_rooftop or go to their page on OpenTable.com. 

Another new rooftop bar, Escape, is on the eighth floor of the Kimpton Shorebreak Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, 2900 Riomar St. While it has a view south down the beach and faces the Intracoastal Waterway (sunsets are a thing here), Escape offers an unobstructed spot to watch the impressive turns the jets make over the city and points west before they rattle back overhead. Escape serves lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with a DJ beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday. Visit Instagram.com/shorebreakresortftl.

Another elevated, but not elevated, spot to watch the show is McSorley’s Beach Pub, 837 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., which will offer viewing on its second-floor rooftop for $50. Visit Instagram.com/mcsorleys_ftl.

According to local weather folks, as things stand now, skies should be sunny this weekend (iffy by Monday), so here’s what to know about Fort Lauderdale Air Show tickets, transportation and the elite aircraft you’ll see overhead during the weekend.

WHERE

The Fort Lauderdale Air Show takes place off Fort Lauderdale beach in an air space that is 2 miles wide, centered at Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, 3109 E. Sunrise Blvd. 

WHEN

The Fort Lauderdale Air Show runs from 11:45 a.m. to about 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Dedicated viewing area Drop Zone Beach opens at 9 a.m. daily, and the Flight Line Club area opens at 10 a.m. 

PRACTICE 

Watching (and hearing) the Thunderbirds and other jets take part in practice maneuvers is a pre-show tradition, especially on Friday, both on the beach and over downtown Fort Lauderdale. Practice schedules are subject to change, but air show organizers share arrival and flight updates on Facebook.com/airdotshow and Instagram.com/airdotshow.

GETTING THERE

Road closures: State Road A1A will be closed from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday from just north of the Sunrise Boulevard intersection north to Northeast 19th Street. The Sunrise Boulevard intersection at A1A will remain open, but traffic will be challenging.

Parking: There is no dedicated parking lot for the air show, but Drop Zone and Sand Box guests can use the parking garage at The Galleria mall on Sunrise Boulevard, west of the Intracoastal. Note: There is no event shuttle service. Down the beach, there is paid parking at the Las Olas Parking Garage, 200 Las Olas Circle. Flight Line Club tickets come with parking included. 

Water Taxi: Boat service may take some of the traffic hassle out of getting to and from the air show, for a price. All-day 10 a.m.-10 p.m. passes cost $40, $35 for seniors and military, $20 for kids age 5 to 11. The Water Taxi has stops near the air show at The Galleria mall and Hugh Taylor Birch State Park. Visit WaterTaxi.com.

TICKETS

There are multiple ticket options for the Fort Lauderdale Air Show. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit FortLauderdaleAirShow.com.

Drop Zone Beach: An area of sand where you can set up your own chairs and beach umbrella. There are portable restrooms with hand-sanitizing stations, plus food and beverage stands with water, soft drinks and beer for purchase. Cost: $37.50+ per day, or $26+ per day for children age 6 to 12. Drop Zone Beach guests get a wristband that allows exit and re-entry throughout the day. 

Sand Boxes: A section of Drop Zone Beach with reserved 10-by-12-foot areas for up to four people, separate restrooms, and food and drink concessions. Sand Box tickets also come with a reserved parking pass and a wristband that allows exit and re-entry throughout the day. Cost: $72.50+ per person.

Flight Line Club VIP: An elevated experience offered at the center of the property, including a tented area and catered lunch (11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) with an all-day beverage bar. Other features include complimentary beach chairs (BYO umbrella), an air-conditioned restroom trailer, and reserved VIP parking at Birch State Park. Cost: $189+, or $165+ per child. You can upgrade to a Flight Line Club Reserved Box, which adds a designated section for up to four people, premium beach chairs and umbrella, and VIP parking on A1A. Cost: $274.75+ per person. Flight Line Club guests get a wristband and lanyard that allows exit and re-entry throughout the day.

Pelican Grand VIP Penthouse: For those who need to be closer to the action, the Pelican Grand Beach Resort, 2000 N. Ocean Blvd., offers a panoramic, eye-level view of the jets from the balcony of the (air-conditioned) ballroom and up on the 10th-floor rooftop deck. You’ll also find an open bar and catered food stations in the ballroom, a live narration of the action and valet parking. Cost: $599+.

FLIGHT SUIT SOCIAL

The best view of Fort Lauderdale Air Show participants will be at this kick-off event hosted by the National Air, Sea and Space Foundation on Friday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on the tarmac at Jetscape Business Aviation, 350 SW 34th St., Fort Lauderdale. The evening will include access to aircraft and pilots featured in the air show  — including the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and Navy F/A-18F Super Hornets — live entertainment, and food and drinks catered by Four Seasons Fort Lauderdale. Tickets cost $250, with all proceeds going to the Stephen “Cajun” Del Bagno Memorial Scholarship at Broward College. Del Bagno was a Thunderbirds pilot who died in a crash in 2018.

PERFORMERS 

The Fort Lauderdale Air Show lineup includes a dozen performances, with each team taking part on both Saturday and Sunday. Highlights include:

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds — These six F-16 Fighting Falcons bring the thunder to the Fort Lauderdale Air Show with an array of crowd-pleasing maneuvers. The four-jet diamond formation brings their wingtips as close as 4 feet apart while performing loops, inverted rolls and turns. When you see two solo jets racing at each other from opposite directions, know that they are hitting speeds of 1,000 mph. 

Ghost Squadron — America’s newest aerobatic jet team consists of eight aircraft — including the only MiG-29 operating in the United States, three Alpha Jets, and a diamond formation of four L-39s. The Polaris Program’s Ghost Squadron jets serve as an important training ground for astronauts to  enhance their navigation skills in a high-G environment. 

A-10 Thunderbolt II Demo Team — Better known as the “Warthog,” this single-pilot attack aircraft is built for short takeoffs and landings from primitive airfields and can operate almost anywhere. The aircraft was designed around its nose gun, the seven-barrel Avenger cannon that fires 30-millimeter, armor-piercing shells at a rate of nearly 4,000 rounds per minute. The jet’s other nickname is “Tank Killer.”

Navy F-18 Rhino Demo Team — The F/A-18F Super Hornet, the Navy’s workhorse carrier-based fighter, is a crowd favorite, its 44,000 pounds of thrust creating dynamic speed and maneuverability. Expect these jets to get their own 15-minute showcase.

SOCOM Para-Commandos — The U.S. Special Operations Command Parachute Team includes volunteers from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and U.S. government civilians who are assigned to the Special Operations Command.

Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Instagram @BenCrandell and Twitter @BenCrandell.