Toledo Air Show to return in 2019

11/8/2018

THE BLADE

A Navy F-18 Super Hornet travels at over 700 MPH at the Toledo Air Show at Toledo Express Airport in July, 2016.

The Toledo Air Show will return in 2019, local officials announced Thursday.

After a 12-year hiatus, the air show returned to Toledo Express Airport in 2016, and coordinators say they plan to keep the event in town on a three-year cycle. The air show is scheduled for July 13 and 14, and attendees can expect performances from high-profile aviators.

Aircraft at the show will range from World War II planes to fifth-generation fighter jets, said retired Lt. Col. Mike Timbrook of the Toledo Air Show. The planning process for an air show takes between two and three years because many of the most in-demand demonstration teams book several years in advance.

“You have to make a decision a couple of years out,” he said.

While the 2016 event was put together in a matter of months, planning for the 2019 event started soon after the 2016 show, which organizers said brought about 50,000 spectators. That extra time, Mr. Timbrook said, has allowed him to book the top acts in each demonstration category.

Any profits from the air show will go to local charities, just as they did in 2016, when about $85,000 was donated, said Wendy Gramza, president and CEO of the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce.

While the air show isn’t meant to make a profit for any of the affiliated organizations, it does bring in revenue to the region and is a marketing opportunity for the airport.

“An air show is a great way for us to show off our airport,” said Paul Toth, the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority's president and chief executive.

Tickets for the event go on sale Black Friday.