WILDWOOD, N.J. – For a few seconds Saturday afternoon, the Wildwood Boardwalk seemed almost quiet. Then came the F-22’s.
The roar rolled across the beach as the Air Force Raptor ripped over the ocean, climbed hard and turned back toward a shoreline packed with spectators. It was the moment many had been waiting for, and on Sunday they get to see it again. The sound was deafening and the roar, majestic.
The Wildwoods Air Show returns for its second and final day Sunday, with flying scheduled from approximately noon to 3 p.m. Organizers say the same lineup is scheduled to perform both days, putting the F-22 Raptor Demo Team back over the beach for another headline performance.
F-22 Raptors Bring the Noise Back Sunday
Saturday brought a September crowd that looked more like the middle of summer.
The beach filled early, the Boardwalk stayed busy and spectators watched from hotels, balconies and businesses up and down the island. Organizers said more than 130,000 people attended last year’s air show, and Saturday’s turnout again showed why the event has quickly become one of Wildwood’s biggest post-Labor Day weekends.
Restaurants and bars were jam-packed. Traffic along the beach was expected and all over the Wildwoods; live bands performed long into the night, keeping the party going late into the September darkness.
For much of the afternoon, aircraft came and went over the ocean. The sound changed completely when the Raptor arrived.
The F-22 is the Air Force’s fifth-generation air-superiority fighter, capable of exceeding Mach 2. Its Wildwood demonstration puts the aircraft through steep climbs, tight turns, high-angle maneuvers and rapid changes in direction that are difficult to appreciate until the jet is directly in front of the crowd.
At times Saturday, the aircraft seemed to hang in the sky before pointing skyward again, just floating. Then the engines caught up with the spectators below.
Sunday’s performance gives anyone who missed Saturday another shot.
Wildwood Air Show Sunday Schedule
Gates open at 9 a.m., with the aerial portion scheduled to run from about noon until 3 p.m. Organizers do not guarantee exact individual performance times because weather, air traffic and operational requirements can change the flying order.
General admission remains free.
The center of the show is over the ocean between Morey’s Mariner’s Pier and Adventure Pier, but aircraft can be seen from much of the Wildwood beach and Boardwalk.
The Raptor may be the headliner, but it is far from the only reason to look up.
New Jersey’s own 177th Fighter Wing is scheduled for an F-16 flyby. Based at Atlantic City, the Air National Guard unit brings one of the most recognizable fighter aircraft in American military aviation down the Cape May County shoreline.
U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City is also participating with an MH-65E Dolphin search-and-rescue demonstration. The helicopter is equipped for missions that Shore residents see in real life — pulling people from the water, evacuating injured boaters and responding to vessels in trouble offshore.
Then there is the MiG-17.
Randy Ball is flying the restored Cold War-era MiG-17F, an aircraft instantly recognizable to aviation fans and veterans familiar with its combat history during the Vietnam War.
The Jersey Jerks bring an entirely different sound to the beach with their North American SNJ/T-6 Texans. The formation team flies the World War II-era trainer that helped prepare generations of American military pilots.
Patrick McAlee is scheduled to fly his Pitts S1S “Blue Demon,” pushing the small aerobatic aircraft through a routine at speeds reaching about 235 mph.
RJ Gritter’s Decathlon adds loops, rolls and spins to the program, while the RE/MAX Skydiving Team opens the flying program with a jump during the National Anthem.
A P-51 Mustang is also on Sunday’s lineup, bringing one of World War II’s best-known American fighters over the Jersey Shore.
One More Big Summer Crowd in September
The timing has worked in Wildwood’s favor.
Instead of the island abruptly emptying after Labor Day, the air show has created another destination weekend at the beginning of what tourism officials have long promoted as Wildwood’s “second season.”
Saturday didn’t feel much like the offseason.
Restaurants and Boardwalk businesses had heavy foot traffic, beachgoers lined the shoreline and spectators gathered anywhere they could get an unobstructed view of the ocean.
The show itself is free, meaning families can watch from the beach or Boardwalk without buying a ticket. Premium viewing areas are available, but they aren’t necessary to see the aircraft.
Anyone heading into town Sunday should expect the busiest period before the noon start and again after the final aircraft leaves the show box.
The Wildwoods Air Show is also being carried live through the 98.7 The Coast app, allowing people elsewhere on the five-mile island to hear the narration while watching overhead.
And when the F-22 comes back around, nobody will have to remind you to look up.