Wings Over Marietta show will have Air Force Thunderbirds

Planes will loop, roll and dive in the skies over Cobb County this weekend.

More than 100,000 people are expected to attend the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds show in Marietta Saturday and Sunday. The last time the precision flying team flew over Atlanta was during the 1996 Olympics.

The elite team of F-16 pilots perform about 30 maneuvers in solo and team routines at speeds of several hundred miles an hour. The four-plane diamond formation is a crowd favorite.

More than 280 million people in 50 states and 57 foreign countries have watched the red, white and blue jets perform in 3,500 shows, according to an Air Force Web site. The First Thunderbirds team took off in 1953.

The Wings Over Marietta Air Show at Dobbins Air Reserve Base will give visitors a close-up look at dozens of aircraft including Lockheed Martin's $140 million F-22 Raptor. The shows, featuring vintage planes to F-16s, will run from 10:30 a.m. to 3:50 p.m. both days.

Cobb County Community Transit will ferry spectators from parking lots at Six Flags White Water and Lockheed Martin.

The county started a shuttle service after a traffic melt-down at a Blue Angels show at Naval Air Station Atlanta in 2004. Cobb County spokesman Robert Quigley said buses helped at a Blue Angels show two years ago and he expects the shuttles to keep traffic flowing smoothly this weekend, though traffic will likely be heavy on sections of South Cobb Drive, Cobb Parkway and Atlanta Road.

Quigley said cars parked on right of ways will be towed and gawkers will need to get permission from business owners before pulling into commercial parking lots.

What you'll see

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Navy, Air Force, National Guard and civilian planes will loop, spin and roll, and visitors will get a close-up look at dozens of aircraft at Dobbins, from an F22 Raptor, made at Lockheed Martin, to a Delta Air Lines 757.

— The USAF Academy Wings of Blue parachute team will jump from planes at 4,500- to 11,000-foot altitudes with plumes of colored smoke following them.

— The F-15E Strike Eagle Air Sport show featuring low-level precision formations and maneuvers, like the torqued eagle, squirrel cage, talon eagle and tuck-under beak.

— Gary Rower will pilot his vintage PT-17 Stearman in barnstormer style with snap rolls, loops and favorite maneuvers, including the "Humpty Gary" where he flies straight up about 1,000 feet and then down the same line before leveling off.

A view from a pilot

Major John Klatt, considered one of the top aerobatic pilots in the country, loves air shows. He hopes children at this weekend's show will get the aviation bug like he did as a child.

"Kids love airplanes," Klatt said after a practice run Tuesday. "I want to inspire the next generation towards careers in aviation."

Klatt has been an Air National Guard pilot 19 years. After flying in 18 air shows this season, Klatt will head to Iraq for a third tour flying F-16's.

He is known for gravity-defying maneuvers during a 10-minute performance in a light airplane designed for aerobatics, with top speeds of 250 mph. He will do torque and barrel rolls and his signature maneuver is what he calls a "hooey tumble" where his plane tumbles end over end before leveling off.

"We've come so far in aviation in 100 years," Klatt said. "The sky's the limit."

If You Go

2008 Wings over Marietta Airshow

8:30-5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, no admission fee.

Take shuttle buses to base from parking lots at Lockheed Martin on South Cobb Drive or Six Flags White Water Park on Cobb Parkway, Marietta. Charge is $3. Buses run 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. both days.

Traffic and parking updates will be available on AM750.

Information: Check the Web at www.dobbins.afrc.af.milor call 678-655-2333.

Rules of the Show

Leave weapons, knives, coolers, large bags, backpacks, pets, bikes, skateboards, kites, balloons, walkie-talkies and glass bottles at home.

Diaper Bags, small camera bags, purses and lawn chairs are allowed. Items carried onto the base will be inspected.

Smoking isn't allowed.

Don't park on Windy Hill and Atlanta Roads, Cobb Parkway or other streets around Dobbins. Cars will be towed.

The gates will open rain or shine although aircraft need good visibility to fly.