Great Georgia Air Show to bring Blue Angels, much more

Though traffic may crawl on the ground, the fighter jets up above will be crossing the Atlanta skies at 700 mph during the Great Georgia Air Show on Halloween weekend.

The show will bring vintage warplanes, aerobatic biplanes and the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, also known as the Blue Angels, to Atlanta Regional Airport in Peachtree City.

It will be a rare outing for the Blue Angels in Atlanta. Expect crowds, said Peachtree City Police Department spokesman Lt. Mark Brown.

“The military usually brings a lot of people,” said Brown, whose department is coordinating security for the event.

Air show director Tony DellaTorre said he's planning to welcome 45,000 visitors a day, or 90,000 for the two-day event, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. That would beat attendance at Taylor Swift's Oct. 24 show, even if she sells out the Georgia Dome.

DellaTorre said, “Our first mission is to be the greatest family-friendly event in Atlanta.”

Here are some of the highlights:

The Blue Angels

This squadron was formed in 1946, making it the oldest formal precision flying team in the country.

It is composed of active-duty Navy and Marine aviators, flying the Boeing FA-18, which has a top speed of Mach 1.8, or 1,190 mph.

Their 90-minute show includes tight formation flying, mirror formations (with two planes flying back to back or belly to belly), close passes and other maneuvers.

Shows by the Blue Angels were briefly halted during the 2013 season after Defense Department funds were reduced by the sequestration (a form of budget cuts). The 2014 season resumed as usual, and there are 65 scheduled performances in 2015.

Mike Goulian and Sean Tucker

Mike Goulian was the youngest pilot ever to win the National Advanced Aerobatic Championship in 1990 at the age of 22. Sean Tucker has flown more than 1,200 shows since the mid-1970s, and is considered one of the living legends of flight.

The two pilots will warm up the crowds for the Blue Angels, along with the team flying the “Screamin’ Sasquatch,” a one-of-a-kind modified biplane with a jet engine strapped to its underside.

Leap Frogs

The U.S. Navy Parachute Team, aka the Leap Frogs, will be trailing streamers of smoke and performing gymnastics in the air, as they navigate their ram-air parachutes above Falcon Field.

Georgia-Florida game

The first day of the air show (Oct. 31) takes place at the same time as the hallowed SEC showdown between the University of Georgia Bulldogs and the University of Florida Gators. Bowing to the inevitable, air show organizers have arranged a way to satisfy football fans by broadcasting the game in the middle of the Falcon Field on two 150-square-foot LED screens in a tent that can accommodate 5,000 people.

Vintage craft, monster trucks, and more

An enormous number of other attractions will provide activities from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., including a concert by country singer RaeLynn on Oct. 31, monster truck rides, displays of vintage craft, Warbird rides and helicopter flights.

Children can also “trick-or-treat” for candy and bounce in a Kid Zone.

The Great Georgia Air Show operates as a nonprofit that puts on one show a year, and has donated $2 million over the past 17 years to 60 charity groups. About 1,400 volunteers will help out over the two-day weekend.

DellaTorre said show organizers have taken significant precautions to make sure all participants remain safe, keeping audiences 1,500 feet from the flight line and dispersing medical and security personnel throughout the facility. “Safety is the driving force behind everything we do,” he said.

For safety reasons, some nearby facilities will be closed on the days of the event, including Lake McIntosh and Dividend Road, according to Brown, the Peachtree City police spokesman. To check on traffic conditions and other closings, go to the Peachtree City Police Department and Fire Department Facebook page.