Another new act added to the Extreme Blue Thunder airshow
The City of Idaho Falls and organizers for the Extreme Blue Thunder airshow have announced that another new act will join this summer’s show. Julie Clark and the Smokin’ Mentor T-34 aerobatic team will join the show in Idaho Falls on July 22 & 23.
According to Russell Johnson, Chairman of the Idaho Falls Air Show Board of Directors, “Julie Clark is the most famous female stunt pilot in the world. Her acrobatics will rock your world! I can’t believe she will be performing in Idaho Falls!”
For more details on Julie and the upcoming airshow you can read the full release included below:
We are thrilled to announce yet another exciting act for this year’s Extreme Blue Thunder Air Show! Julie Clark and the Smokin’ Mentor T-34 aerobatic team will entertain crowds in Idaho Falls on July 22 & 23.
Julie will be flying her beautifully restored T-34, “Free Spirit,” during a “Serenade in Red, White and Blue” patriotic presentation choreographed to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” Top that off with multi-colored wingtip smoke trailing behind her every maneuver, and crowds will quickly realize why Julie has earned the admiration of fans across North America, garnering many awards and honors along the way.
Russell Johnson, Chairman of the Idaho Falls Air Show Board of Directors states, “Julie Clark is the most famous female stunt pilot in the world. Her acrobatics will rock your world! I can’t believe she will be performing in Idaho Falls!”
Started in 1980, Julie Clark’s American Aerobatics team has almost 33,000 accident-free hours in the air. In 1981, she was the youngest recipient of the “Woman Pilot of the Year Award,” bestowed by the Southwest Section of The Ninety-Nines, the female pilots’ association whose first president was Amelia Earhart.
“While most 8-year-old girls were playing with dolls,” explained Julie, “I was building models of airplanes and reading all I could about flying.” Her passion for flying was inherited from her father, Capt. Ernie Clark, Chief Pilot for Pacific Airlines.
In 2002, she received one of her highest honors when she was inducted into the Women in Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame. Since 2006, Julie has been honored annually by Airport Journals and the Kiddie Hawk Air Academy as one of the Top 40 “Living Legends in Aviation,” along with other legends such as Bob Hoover, Gene Cernan, Morgan Freeman, Harrison Ford and Kurt Russell.
Julie purchased her Beechcraft T-34 in 1977, “sight unseen” at a government surplus auction in Anchorage, Alaska for $18,000 and then flew the airplane 2,900 miles to her home in California. There is where she personally restored the plane inside and out.
The 2017 Extreme Blue Thunder Air Show will take place at the Idaho Falls Regional Airport on Skyline Drive. The show will feature the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force’s F-35 Heritage Flight Team accompanied by the P-51 Mustang.
Brad Wursten, a Hyde Park, Utah native will fly in one of the most highly sophisticated airplanes in the world, the MXS-R made by MX Aircraft.
TICKET INFORMATION
Ticket prices from May 1 to May 31 are $24 for adults and $14 for children. June 1-July 21, tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children. Tickets will be available at the gate for $30 for adults and $15 for children. Children (ages 5 & under) are free. Tickets are available online.
After operating costs, proceeds from the air show will be donated to local non-profit
organizations.
Beginning June 1, 2017, tickets can be purchased with cash or credit card at all Westmark Credit Union locations. Pricing for tickets purchased at Westmark will be identical to the prices available online.
Each ticket is good for one day, either July 22 or July 23, but not both days. Gates will open at 9:00 a.m. on both days. Static displays, vendors and merchandizing will be available throughout the day, and the planes will take to the sky at 12:10 p.m. The show concludes around 4:30 p.m. To ensure everyone can view the performance, the air show will be an open-seating environment.
