WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Planes taking flight over Oakland County International Airport in Waterford Township will be in the air for a different reason this weekend. It’s the Festival of Flights.
The festival takes place Sunday and is run by the nonprofit Oakland County International Airport Air Fair, volunteer pilots, aviation professionals and enthusiasts, who showcase aviation’s rich history, its economic impact and diverse uses, from business and pleasure to military applications, and encourage children to explore aviation careers.
New this year, the Ohio-based Redline Airshow. The father-son aerobatic duo will pilot matching RV-8s, a high-performance single-engine aircraft built from a kit.
Other performers include:
- The Misty Blues, an all-woman skydiving team. The women are from across the U.S. Of the 35,000 skydivers nationwide, only 15% are female.
- Stephen Covington of Longview, Texas, flying a Pitts Special 2s, a light aerobatic biplane nicknamed “The Raptor,” in a reenactment of a World War I-era dogfight with the Red Baron, the nickname for German pilot Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, consider the best of all World War I pilots.
- Skip Stewart will fly a highly customized Pitts Special, nicknamed “Prometheus, The Flying Machine.”
Attendees can check out vintage and modern airplanes, including a Ford Tri-Motor transport plane, and from World War II a carrier-based Curtiss SB2C Helldiver dive bomber, a North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber, a McKinnon G-21G Turbo Goose amphibious flying boat and a Grumman TBM-3E Avenger torpedo bomber.
Aircraft and helicopter flights will be available for $50 per person.
The family-friendly day includes a county parks-run kids play area and a health-and-safety fair with giveaways including first-aid kits, power banks and lock boxes and bags.
At least 30 vendors will be selling food, drinks and desserts.
The 38th annual Festival of Flight is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10, at the Oakland County International Airport in Waterford Township. Air show performances are from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Admission and parking are free.