Thunderbirds performance expected to attract massive crowds for AirVenture airshow

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Thunderbirds are expected to draw an unusually large crowd to eastern Wisconsin next weekend for the Air Force jets' first full performance at the nation's largest convention of pilots. Neither the Thunderbirds nor the Navy's Blue Angels have done anything more than flybys at the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual convention, AirVenture, previously. That's because military teams require more free space on the ground than other airshows held during the event. AirVenture organizers asked 40 hanger owners, 13 businesses and 18 homeowners near the airport to leave during the upcoming shows to clear a half-mile wide and 2-miles-long space below the aerobatic box in which the F-16 jets perform. AirVenture runs Monday through Sunday. The Thunderbirds practice on Friday and perform Saturday and Sunday.