‘Home-base aircraft’ F-35 to highlight Warriors Over Wasatch show
Apr 19, 2018, 2:46 PM | Updated: Aug 4, 2022, 12:10 pm
FILE PHOTO: An F-35 aircraft is displayed at Hill Air Force Base on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017. Hill AFB confirmed its first case of COVID-19 March 20. (Photo: Spenser Heaps/Deseret News)
(Photo: Spenser Heaps/Deseret News)
HILL AIR FORCE BASE — Utah’s “home-base aircraft” highlights the return of the Warriors Over the Wasatch Air and Space Show to Hill Air Force Base in June.
“We get to show off the F-35 — the F-35 being the home-base aircraft (of Hill Air Force Base),” Kevin Ireland, with the Utah Air Show Foundation, said Thursday at the Hill Aerospace Museum. “This will be the first time the public can get up close and personal, and really see what the F-35 can do.”
The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds are scheduled to perform at Hill Air Force Base in June, but they’re canceling a show in Mississippi this weekend after a pilot was killed last week during flight training in Nevada.
“The Thunderbirds have announced that they’ve started flying again. They’re back to practicing,” said Lt. Col Jeffery Thomas, director of the air show. “They’re focusing on practicing, putting together … a new show and also supporting the safety investigation that’s currently going on.”
The Warriors Over the Wasatch Air and Space Show is scheduled for June 23-24 at Hill Air Force Base. The event is held every other year and attracts between 500,000 and 600,00 people over the two days of festivities.
Also performing at the air show will be the U.S. Special Operations parachute team, and other military and civilian aerial demonstrations. Admission and parking are free.
In addition, the Utah Transit Authority will be running FrontRunner trains that Saturday and Sunday, with buses taking riders from the Clearfield Station to the base.
Organizers say this year’s airs how will also feature an entire hanger dedicated to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education, with some of the nation’s largest aerospace companies planning to have displays and interactive activities.
Show organizers say they wanted to add the educational component this year, hoping to attract bright young minds into STEM fields such as aerospace.
The event also features dozens of displays of modern and historic military aircraft and equipment, and visitors will be able to talk and interact with U.S. airmen.
VIP tickets are available to purchase, giving attendees higher levels of accommodations, such as private seating, and food and beverage options.
For more information about the Warriors Over the Wasatch Air and Space show, visit www.hill.af.mil.
