By Portfolio Editor Roz Hamlett

It’s almost misleading to say the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will fly over Stewart International Airport during the 2016 New York Air Show, which begins today.

While the Thunderbirds scream and roar in the airspace for the next few days, everything else will pale in comparison, even the big airliners that will continue to fly in and out of Stewart Airport during the show. The Thunderbirds brand of supersonic flight – whether its sideways, upside down, nose up, nose down – defies all gravity and breaks the sound barrier.

While the Thunderbirds scream and roar in the airspace for the next few days, everything else will pale in comparison, even the big airliners that will continue to fly in and out of Stewart Airport during the show. The Thunderbirds brand of supersonic flight – whether its sideways, upside down, nose up, nose down – defies all gravity and breaks the sound barrier.

Sharply choreographed, flying wingtip to wingtip, the Thunderbirds, officially known as the U.S. Air Force Demonstration Squadron, exhibit some of the maximum capabilities of the F-16 Fighting Falcon – the Air Force’s premier multi-role fighter jet. On Friday at 9:45 a.m., the Thunderbirds will perform a flyover of the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson River past One World Trade Center as practice. Later, several members of the team will ring the Closing Bell of the New York Stock Exchange at 4 p.m., along with officials of the New York Air Show.

Their 2016 season has included flyovers of the Daytona International Speedway, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in San Diego, Calif. and a host of other stops in cities across the country. The team is heading to Fort Wayne, Ind. following their appearance in New York.

Along with the Thunderbirds, the New York show includes an aircraft display and exhibit area spread over 50 acres of the south side of Stewart International. Military and civilian aircraft are on display, including a B-1 Bomber, a pair of F-16 Fighting Falcons, an ME-53 Sea Dragon helicopter known as King of the Skies, and an M1A1 Abrams Tank.  Other performers include the West Point Parachute Team and a demonstration by the U.S. Navy of its F-18 Hornet.

This B-1 Bomber, which is landing at Stewart, will be on display during the New York Air Show.

“This makes the second straight year that Stewart has hosted the New York Air Show. It’s very exciting to have an opportunity to showcase Stewart’s airfield capabilities while drawing spectators from all around – New York City, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania,” said Ed Harrison, general manager of the facility, which is located in the southern Hudson Valley of New York State.

“We are absolutely thrilled to host the Thunderbirds,” said Harrison, “They take our breath away.”

For the latest updates on additional New York Air Show aircraft displays follow the Thunderbirds Facebook page. Gates open at 9 a.m.

&nbs