Airshow features warbirds, drones

Many folks from Sisters will be making the trek up to Madras on August 23-24 to take in one of the most spectacular air shows in the West at the Airshow of the Cascades.

Hundreds of planes of all types will be part of the show, including about 30 flyable World War II warbirds — types that were flown in air combat during D-Day operations in Normandy in 1944. Those planes are part of the Erickson Aircraft Collection. A partnership with the Erickson Aircraft Collection allows Airshow visitors free entry to their museum, which houses the largest privately owned collection of vintage warbirds in the

world.

The airshow in Madras is a family event that is distinct from many other airshows across the West.

“Here it’s more up-close,” said Airshow board member Tom Brown. “You get to talk to the pilots; you get up close to the planes.”

The Airshow of the Cascades has always been about more than planes. The show started when local rancher and vintage plane enthusiast Ron Ochs invited friends to fly in to his ranch in the late 1970s and ’80s for a get-together and weekend party. They’d land on his hay field after the second cutting. Friends who didn’t fly drove their fancy cars out to the ranch.

When the event moved to the Madras Airport to become Airshow of the Cascades in 2000, the car show came with it. Now there’s also a motorcycle show and — new this year — a vintage

bicycle show.

New technology gets a chance to shine, as well. There will be both daytime and nighttime choreographed drone flights. The day show is larger, but the new-this-year night show will be especially dramatic with lighting on the drones.

For more information, visit http://www.cascadeairshow.com.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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