COLUMBUS, Ohio — The 2023 Columbus Air Show kicks off June 16 at the Rickenbacker International Airport, breaking its 20-year absence. This year’s show brings many exciting guests, including the United States Navy Blue Angels.
The last air show took place in 2007 and brought more than 150,000 people to the Columbus airport for “Gathering of Mustangs and Legends.”
The gates will open at 9 a.m. on Friday through Sunday and close at 5 p.m.
While there will be some flying during the morning hours, visitors will see the most action between noon and 4 p.m. Specific times for each performer will not be released.
You can find more information on the event below:
Tickets
All tickets for Saturday and Sunday are sold out. Friday tickets are still available as of Thursday afternoon. Find tickets here.
General admission for ages 16 and over is $55 per person. Kids 15 and under get in for free when entering with an adult ticket holder. There will not be tickets available for purchase at the gate.
Parking for the show must be purchased separately and done in advance.
NOTE: Active duty, reserve and retired military members can receive a 15% discount on General Admission and General Parking by using the code “MIL1” when checking out. A valid CAC or USID card must be presented upon event entry along with air show tickets. This discount is only available for General Admission and General Parking purchases.
Parking
Visitors who are wanting to park at the air show must buy a parking pass online prior to the event. Event organizers noted that there is limited capacity for parking and traffic so once all parking passes are reserved, there will be no additional parking passes available.
Parking passes can be purchased here and cost $30. No buses or RVs are allowed in the parking area and passes are only good for the day for which it’s purchased.
Those parking and driving through the area should expect increased traffic each day with a heavy surge between 3:45 p.m. and 6 p.m. There will be deputies from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office helping to direct traffic at intersections along Alum Creek Drive and Rickenbacker Parkway.
To find parking, enter the airport’s address into your GPS (2241 John Circle Drive, Columbus) and follow signage and directions from parking attendants when you get closer.
Complete lineup
- U.S. Navy Blue Angels
- U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor
- U.S. Marine Corps C-130 “Fat Albert”
- Ohio Air National Guard KC-135 Stratotanker
- P-51D Mustang “Old Crow”
- C-47 Skytrain “Hairless Joe”
- F-5 Tiger
- B-25 Mitchell “Rosie’s Reply”
- P-51 “By Request”
- Kent Pietsch
- Rob Holland
- Michael Goulian
- Smoke-N-Thunder Jet Truck
There will also be Stol Drag Racing at the event.
The STOL Drag Racing Columbus Cup was announced in February and the race plans to work in conjunction with the air show. The drag race includes two aircraft flying side-by-side down a 2,000-foot course.
Spectators can expect the planes to start on a line, take-off and fly 1,000 feet before the pilots have to put the plane into a slip to slow the aircraft down, according to a release.
The pilots who are racing have to land on or beyond the line on the opposite side of the course and once they get to the ground, they dissipate the airspeed using braking and come to a full stop before turning around and flying back through the course. Whoever flies past the starting line and comes to a full stop wins.