Get ready for scorching walls of smoke and flame. No, it’s not another summer barbecue festival. It’s the Kansas City Aviation Expo, and it’s packing heat. This year’s show uses a 1,300-foot pyrotechnic curtain of flame as its centerpiece, while iron-stomached trick pilots perform aerobatic feats above. Back on solid ground will be 40-plus stationary airplane exhibits, and a big rig outfitted with jet engines will race airplanes down the runway.
Stunt group Tora! Tora Tora! will re-enact scenes from the Pearl Harbor attack, complete with World War II-era Japanese strike-fighter replicas. For those with a more recent military memory, an F-15 Eagle fighter jet will also tear up the skies. “Most air shows have around 30 minutes or so of flying, between long breaks,” air-show director Ed Noyalles explains. “We’re offering nonstop action, one performance after another. That’s six solid hours of flying.”
The pilots play bullfight with gravity today and Sunday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. See kcairshow.com for the performance schedule and ticket information.
