MAIN Travel USA Missouri Kansas City Air Show

The Kansas City Air Show is a wildly popular air show with Midwest audiences that takes place in Kansas City MO each year at the Wheeler Downtown Airport.

Officially known as the KC Aviation & Airshow, it traditionally kicks off each summer in late August.

Although a pall went over last year's exibition when an air show stunt resulted in a fatal accident, the Kanas City Air Show is expected to come roaring back in 2012. As yet, opening dates have yet to be announced.

Like most big events, the Kansas City Air Show has a number of attractions and features that make it an entertaining way to spend the day — but the real attraction is, of course, the planes!

Last year, the Kansas City Air Show featured a thrilling lineup of military and civilian performers featuring the U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt, the U.S. Navy F-18 Super Hornet, and the U.S. Army parachute team Golden Knights. Other performers included the 12,000 horsepower Flash Fire Jet Truck, and a local Kansas City favorite, pilot Jacquie B.

In the past, the Kansas City Air Show has featured a wide variety of flying entertainment, including thunderous appearances by the Navy Blue Angels and the US Air Force Thunderbirds, along with mock dog fights between planes, and aerobatic stunt men with highly modified planes capable of stunning maneuvers.

There have also been some air entertainment acts that are a little more unconventional. Past shows, for instance, have featured an elite parachute team from the United States Army, as well as some flightless jet powered vehicles. Paul Strender, a former racing mechanic, put together a jet powered port-o-potty, as well as a jet powered school bus, both featured at the Kansas City Air Show in 2008.

Kansas City Air Show tickets and parking info

Tickets to the Kansas City Air Show range from $15 to $40. It's usually much cheaper if tickets are purchased beforehand rather than on show days at the gate. Kids 15 years of age or younger are typically admitted free if accompanied by an adult.

Parking at the air show grounds is also quite limited, so air show organizers encourage people to take advantage of park and ride shuttle bus transit services, which deliver people directly to the front gates. Air show North buses pick-up and return to Briarcliff Village. South buses pick up at Union Station and at designated stops on Grand Blvd.

More about the Kanas City Air Show around the Web:

Kansas City Aviation Expo - The official site with the complete schedule of performances, map & directions, parking & shuttle bus information, online ticket purchase, FAQ.

Charles B. Wheeler - Downtown Airport - The official venue with maps and directions, weather info.

Kansas City Air Show - A three-page photo album of performances from the 2007 show.

also see in Summer Recreation -> Missouri Lakes & Beaches