Michigan’s loss will be Westmoreland County’s gain when the annual air show at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport returns this summer.
Airport officials learned this week the Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds jet team will be available to fly in and headline the Shop ‘n Save International Airshow, set for June 21-22.
“It’s a little bit unexpected but certainly welcome,” said Gabe Monzo, executive director of the county airport authority, which operates the Unity airport and hosts the air show.
With the news of the Snowbirds’ return to the Latrobe area, he said Wednesday, “It’s going to be a full-fledged air show.”
The Canadian precision demonstration squadron’s previous appearances at Palmer airport were in 2019 and 2016.
The team of nine pilots will be performing maneuvers in modified C-114 Tutor aircraft — capable of a maximum speed of 763 kilometers per hour, or about 474 mph. The Tutors were the primary jet trainer for the Royal Canadian Air Force until 2000.
According to a Snowbirds spokesperson, the team was scheduled to perform June 21-22 in the “Wings Over Muskegon” airshow at Grand Haven, Mich. But a taxiway reconstruction project at Muskegon County Airport has caused cancellation of that show, leaving the team free to visit Westmoreland instead.
Canadian government officials will have to sign off on the change of venue. David Schultz, whose Clearfield-based company runs both air shows, said that formality shouldn’t be a problem.
“We don’t see any issues for them to come to Latrobe,” he said.
Also making the switch to the Westmoreland show will be a U.S. Air Force tactical demonstration team, flying an F-16 jet known for its high-decibel engine.
“The noise will be there,” Monzo confirmed.
Static aircraft displays and vendors also are planned for the show, which will mark the 100th anniversary of the first airshow that was held at the Unity site, then known as Longview Flying Field. That initial event featured flights by Charles “Charlie” Bruce Carroll, an aviation enthusiast from Scottdale who bought an Army surplus Curtis Jenny in 1919.
He was part of a group known as “The Longview Boys,” or “Carroll’s Hooligans,” who put on shows including barnstorming, fly-ins, parachute jumps and wing walks.
Construction of a terminal expansion will be underway this summer at the Palmer airport, but Monzo said that work won’t interfere with the air show plans.
“Everything will be good,” he said. “We’ll have the first floor base structure in place and probably be starting to build the second floor elevation by then. We’re in the process of pouring concrete footings and doing the base walls now.”
Allegheny Construction is the general contractor for the $22 million expansion project. It’s set to add 32,000 square feet to the terminal building, creating space for new security checkpoints, additional passenger waiting areas and a second loading gate.
