CHICAGO — The Air and Water Show is returning this weekend with a lineup that features everything from military jets to homemade kit planes.
Headliners Blue Angels, Golden Knights and Leap Frogs will be joined by the Breitling Jet Team, which is on its debut U.S. tour. The show will also features demonstrations and performances from air and sea rescue teams and pilots who built their planes from kits at home, among other crews.
The Air and Water Show is 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 15-16 at North Avenue Beach, 1600 N. Lake Shore Drive.
Here are details on the aircraft and performances at this year's show:
Footage from a Blue Angels demonstration.
• The Navy Blue Angels will fly F/A-18 Hornets. Their Hornets are modified through the installation of a smoke-fluid system, among other additions, and feature a yellow and blue paint scheme, according to the Blue Angels. They're famous for flying extremely close to each other in special formations while turning and dipping.
• The Army Parachute Team Golden Knights uses a C-31A Troopship and UV-18A Twin Otter. The Golden Knights jump from the planes when they're 12,500 feet in the air and can go faster than 120 mph.
• The Navy Parachute Team Leap Frogs will jump from planes that are 12,500 feet up in the air.
Footage from F-16 Fighting Falcons.
• An F-16 Fighting Falcon will be on display. Variations of the fighter, which has evolved throughout the years, have been used for decades by the U.S. military.
• The Coast Guard will show off its MH-65D Dolphin Helicopter during a simulated rescue. The Dolphin is "the Coast Guard's most ubiquitous aircraft," according to the group, and it can travel at 175 knots (201 mph).
• The Aeroshell Aerobatic Team will perform, showing off its checkerboard-nosed AT-6 Texans. It's nicknamed "the pilot maker" and was used to train pilots during World War II, according to the aerobatic team.
• The Aerostars will perform in Yak 52 TWs, which has a unique design that allows it to fly upside down for up to three minutes.
The Breitling Jet Team will make its Chicago debut at the 57th Chicago Air and Water Show in August, city officials said. [City of Chicago/Katsuhiko Tokunaga]
• The Breitling Jet Team — a new addition to the Air and Water Show lineup — uses seven L-39C Albatros jets. It can reach up 565 mph when diving.
• Sean D. Tucker and Team Oracle use a custom-made plane dubbed the Oracle Challenger III. It can reach 300 mph and its wings hold smoke generators, pyrotechnics and cameras, according to Oracle.
• Bill Stein uses an Edge 540. Stein uses paint that makes it look like the airplane is changing color based on the angles between viewers, the airplane and lighting, according to his website.
• The Firebirds Delta Team will combine "formation aerobatics with radical gyroscopic tumbles," according to the city.
• Matt Chapman Airshows uses a modified Mudry CAP 231EX, of which only six were built, according to the organization. It can go up to 240 mph.
• Dave Dacy will perform in a Super Stearman Model 70. Stearmans were used in World War II and as crop dusters, according to Dacy's website, but he uses his during wingwalking demonstrations with partner Tony Kazian.
Footage of the Skyhawk.
• The Warbird Heritage Museum Foundation will show off an A-4 Skyhawk Jet Tac. The aircraft have been used by the military since the '50s, and it can go faster than 600 mph.
• Team AeroDynamix's pilots come from across the United States and fly planes built by the pilots at home. The planes are RV-8s, RV-7s and RV-8As with differing coloring schemes. They all have smoke generators.
• The Chicago Fire Department's Air Sea Rescue Unit will also be on hand. They use two Bell 412EP helicopters in their work. Those helicopters are built for use "in the most extreme climates on the planet every day," according to their makers.
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