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Jun 11, 2023

Greenwood Lake Airport air show still on despite smoke in NJ

In spite of smoky skies inhibiting flights at Greenwood Lake Airport in West

In spite of smoky skies inhibiting flights at Greenwood Lake Airport in West Milford on Wednesday, the airport's annual air show is set to begin as planned Friday night.

Tim Wagner, the state-owned airport's manager and air show organizer, said there are lingering concerns over the smoke-filled skies with some weekend performers yet to arrive at the airport in their planes ahead of the three-day event. Still, he said the airstrip was active Wednesday morning and was expected to be open again Thursday, he said.

"I am worried, but I'm worried about everything," he said. "I'm worried about a little rain cloud."

Wagner said the airport in north West Milford needs at least three miles of visibility to safely hold an air show. Visibility on Wednesday afternoon was less than two miles at North Jersey airports from Sussex to Teterboro. At Newark International Airport, officials at times were reporting less than one mile of visibility.

Though reports say the smoke could hang over the region into the weekend. Wagner said he is expecting most of the haze to start clearing well ahead of the 7 p.m. Friday show.

The airport gates are scheduled to open Friday at 5 p.m. with daylight performers starting at 7 ahead of an 8:30 night show. Among the night acts is Nathan Hammond, a skywriter born in New York. His night show includes a plain strapped with more than 200 pounds of wing-mounted pyrotechnics and 4,000 LED lights.

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"We have a great night show planned," Wagner said. "There's an expanded light show, more pyrotechnics and a laser show, which should be really cool."

The Saturday show starts at 5:30 p.m. and is followed by an 8:30 p.m. night show. Gates open at 2 p.m. The gates open again at 11 a.m. Sunday ahead of the final show. Sunday performances are set to start at 2 p.m. and finish by 5 p.m. Tickets are $35 for adults, $25 for seniors and military veterans, and $10 for children 4 to 12. Younger children are admitted free. Parking fees start at $15 and can be purchased with tickets in advance at greenwoodlakeairshow.com.

Tickets to the Saturday show are selling quickly, Wagner said. Most of the premium seating for that show is sold and available parking is running thin, he said.

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Scheduled weekend performers include the headlining Aeroshell Aerobatic Team, a four-pilot group specializing in tight aerial maneuvers using Word War II era T-6 Texan training aircraft. Other returning acts include Tom Larkin in his Sub Sonex Jet and U.S. champion aerobat Rob Holland. New this year is Kent Pietsch, a 50-year air show veteran who regularly lands his 37-foot-wide airplane on a moving RV at air shows.

Beyond stunts in the skies and flyovers from military aircraft new and old, the show is set to feature area food vendors, displays and an Army Air Forces Historical Association exhibit. The group is once again planning to host 97-year-old Eugene Richardson. Richardson is one of the last three surviving Tuskegee Airman, a famed group of Black military pilots and airmen who fought in World War II.