The US Air Force Thunderbirds have announced that they will headline the 2012 Rockford AirFest, on Saturday, June 2 and Sunday, June 3. The announcement was made yesterday at the International Council of Air Shows convention in Las Vegas. The Rockford AirFest organizers also announced the theme for the 2012 show, a 'Celebration of Freedom.'
The headliner act announcement came shortly after the US Air Force Air Combat Command issued a statement that they will be significantly reducing their tactical demonstration team performances, cutting all the demo teams except the F-22 Raptor and the Thunderbirds. The A-10 East & West, F-16 East & West and F-15E demo teams were all removed from 2012 air show availability. The US Air Force Heritage Flight was thankfully spared and is expected to be available for most of the air show season as well.
Rockford AirFest organizers have not yet announced how the loss of the USAF demo teams will affect their scheduling and lineup, as they historically had either the F-16 and F-15 teams at each year's AirFest, with both present last year.
On the other side, the US Navy made an announcement shortly after the US Air Force that their air show presence will remain at the same level as prior years, with all of their tactical demo teams being available for air show appearances across the country. Rockford did make a statement that the US Navy Blue Angels are slated to be the headliners for the 2013 Rockford AirFest. They were scheduled to headline the 2011 AirFest until a safety stand-down was enacted by the team due to an incident at an air show earlier in the 2011 season. The stand-down required the team to cancel their appearance at the 2011 AirFest.
Additional announcements on performers are expected over the next few weeks and into next year as the Rockford AirFest organizers continue to work with bringing civilian and military aerial acts along with dozens of aircraft to feature in the static displays on the ground.
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