Warbird Information Exchange

Available as of 9:00 a.m. this morning, discounted advance sales tickets are available for this year's Thunder Over Michigan 2005 show through Star Tickets Plus.
There are three options to order your tickets:

Order Online: www.starticketplus.com
Charge-by-phone: 1-800-585-3737
Order in person: Star Tickets Plus Outlets in participating Michigan Meijer locations.

Purchasing tickets in advance you will be able to save $3 off the adult ticket price (ages 16+) and $2 off the youth ticket price (ages 7 -15).

Thanks for the support of the Yankee Air Museum!

Blue skies..
Kevin T. Walsh
Aviation Events Director
Yankee Air Museum

Kevin,

Is the Friday arrival day covered by the Symposium tickets like the Saturday and Sunday is? (my tickets are at home right now so I can't check)

Mike

_________________
Mike R. Henniger
Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer
http://www.AerialVisuals.ca
http://www.facebook.com/AerialVisuals

Do you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the The Locator.
Do you want to find or contribute to the documented history of an aircraft? If so then start with the Airframes Database.

Mike,
No. The Friday "Arrival Day" is a separate admissioned day. It is $10 "cash at the gate" only.
"Arrival Day" admission allows you to hang out all day on the Friday and watch the action.
Blue skies..
Kevin

How late are you open. I probably won't arrive until late afternoon on Friday.

Mike

_________________
Mike R. Henniger
Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer
http://www.AerialVisuals.ca
http://www.facebook.com/AerialVisuals

Do you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the The Locator.
Do you want to find or contribute to the documented history of an aircraft? If so then start with the Airframes Database.

Arrival Day will be 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Hope to be there by 6:00 on Friday....

How is the parking setup at the airshow?

There doesn't seem to be any shortage of parking. You may however want to avoid showing up mid-to-late morning. Catherine and for the 2003 show and it took forever to get parked (volume).

Let me know again which hotel you are booked at Andrew. Catherine and I booked a room last week at one of the one I suggested to you. We arrive on the Friday as well.

Mike

_________________
Mike R. Henniger
Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer
http://www.AerialVisuals.ca
http://www.facebook.com/AerialVisuals

Do you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the The Locator.
Do you want to find or contribute to the documented history of an aircraft? If so then start with the Airframes Database.

Mike,

I believe we are booked in the Comfort Inn in Belleville Michigan...

Where are people allowed to stand during the arrival day? How close can one get to the planes (i.e. are people asked to stand beyond ropes at a fixed distance at all time)? Or are people allowed to walk up to the planes after they have parked and shut down?

Just curious.

I'm flying in to Detroit Friday AM around 9-10am and won't be flying out until Sunday night. In other words, it'll be an entire weekend of warbirds for me.

Hmmm,

Comfort Inn in Belleville, Shannon and I will be there Fri/Sat/Sun.

I think we are flying into Cleveland though, 3 hours away but 1/2 the price.

_________________
"Hindsight is usually 20% off!"

There will be no ramp access on Arrival Day. Crowds are allowed in the air park and the general spectator viewing area in the grass.
The spectator area is adjacent to the taxiway and most aircraft taxi by on arrival.
For safety reasons we do not allow the general public on the ramp as there are far too many aircraft movements on Friday.
Blue skies...
Kevin

Seeing that this is my first trip to the Thunder Over Michigan show, can anyone give me any idea of airshow display schedule..does flying take place all day or just within a specific time period?

And are the public allowed close to aircraft that are taking part in the show on the Sat/Sun before or after they are displayed..

More than just curious!!

It is best to arrive early. Get you static pictures by 11 AM as they close-off parts of the ramp before the flying starts. It is not a nice as Geneseo for example, but it works. There are still plenty of locations to get good pics of planes taxiing if you know where to go.

Mike

_________________
Mike R. Henniger
Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer
http://www.AerialVisuals.ca
http://www.facebook.com/AerialVisuals

Do you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the The Locator.
Do you want to find or contribute to the documented history of an aircraft? If so then start with the Airframes Database.

I'm not sure if you're hinting at how well you'll be able to photograph the planes, but there are guided photo tours available each morning for $40 (which includes admission to that days show). Last time I looked, the Thunder Over Michigan website didn't mention that the photo tour tickets were gone...so perhaps some remain. I got a photo tour ticket for both days, just in case the weather was rotton one day or certain planes would only be available certain days.

Otherwise, as has been mentioned, you can generally get near the planes early in the day...unless things have changed any since 2003. I suspect access will be available to the bombers for most of the time that they aren't flying, as they often earn extra revenue by allowing people to walk through the planes. (It's worth the $5-10 if you've never done it. A B-17 looks large on the outside, but is cramped on the inside.)

If you have limited time, I would suggest walking up to the fighters first, since they may be harder to access as the day moves along. By early afternoon, they may be roped off or moved towards the flight line as they are readied to fly. Someone correct me if I'm wrong...

Thanks for the hints guys..

I am an early bird at these events so I will do my best to get my static pix in early morning (better light also in early hours also)..I hope to tour a bombers on display also...