The McChord Air Expo runs from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The Thunderbirds – the Air Force’s precision flying team in their red-white-and-blue F-16s – will perform both days around 3 p.m.

“When we planned all this out … nobody knew what was going to happen to gas prices,” said Maj. Doug Edwards, the Air Expo director, of the big reason why people are sticking close to home this summer.

“And we figure when it comes to family entertainment, we’ve got to be right near the top of the list, because everything we’re offering is free,” he said.

Attendance in past years has been about 75,000 per day, but, “I think we could easily double that number per day,” Edwards said.

The timing is also right for a visit from the Thunderbirds – the service’s “Ambassadors in Blue.” They haven’t performed at McChord since 2005.

It’s their job, among other things, to “reinforce public confidence in the Air Force and to demonstrate to the public the professional competence” of its members.

The headlines haven’t been kind to the Air Force the last several weeks. The tanker mess. Bungled safeguarding of nuclear missiles. Firings at the top.

But a Thunderbird pilot, Maj. Christopher Austin, said Thursday that he won’t feel any extra pressure to put the best face on his service when he climbs into the cockpit of his F-16.

The 35-year-old from Port Orchard said the Air Force has a culture of accountability and service members hold themselves to high standards.

“We hold ourselves to a deep level of accountability and some folks will lose their jobs, and that’s what the Air Force is all about sometimes,” Austin said. “Sometimes we make a tough call and we make ourselves accountable for mistakes, or oversights, in attempt to fix it as quickly as possible, because we take what we do seriously.

“So no, I don’t feel a sense of having to raise my game or anything, because my game was as high as I could make it before all this. We just take a deep pride in our sense of duty for our country, and we take that very seriously.”

Access to the base, usually restricted to those with Department of Defense identification, will be open to the public. Five hours of flying shows are scheduled each day, and more than 100 aircraft and other military hardware will be on display.

Edwards said there will be plenty of parking but encouraged people to car pool or consider public transportation. Pierce Transit will run free buses from the Highway 512 Park & Ride lot and Lakewood Towne Center.

From talking with local government and business leaders and groups sponsoring the event, base officials say they’ve gotten the message that there clearly is some pent-up demand for the expo.

The show was an annual summertime fixture until 2002 when McChord officials had to cancel due to heavy operational demands in Afghanistan and in the buildup for war in Iraq. It went on in 2003, was skipped again in 2004, and then on again in 2005.

Officials then canceled the 2006 and 2007 shows, again citing operational demands and the fact the base was playing host in 2007 to the Air Mobility Rodeo, a kind of Olympic-style games for military airlifters.

This year, “we want to have the biggest show that McChord has ever put on, and we were going to pull out all the stops to make that happen,” Edwards said.

“The whole idea of the air show is to open our gates to the community, to come see their base, come see their military, and for us to say thank-you for their unwavering support,” he added.

WHAT TO SEE, WHEN TO SEE IT

The Air Force Thunderbirds will fly a private show beginning around 2 p.m. today for about 1,200 special-needs children and their families.

Then on Saturday and Sunday they’ll be the headliners of 14 flying acts at the McChord Air Expo.

Planners won’t publish a precise schedule, but the flying will generally begin between 10:30 and 11 a.m., and wrap up with the Thunderbirds performances about 3 p.m.

“Planes break. Higher needs call them away. There’s all kinds of stuff,” said Maj. Doug Edwards, the Air Expo director.

“I don’t think we’ll post it by times, because the second we do, things will change.”

The show will end both days by 4:30 p.m., Edwards said.

On Saturday and Sunday, flying acts will take place in this order:

 • C-17 air drop demonstration

 • Air Force Academy “Wings of Blue” precision parachute team

 • Jacquie B’s Pitts S-1T biplane

 • Air Force Reserve jet car

 • Bud Granley’s T-6 Texan

 • B-2 Spirit bomber (Saturday only)

 • F-15C Eagle tactical demonstration

 • P-51 Mustang heritage flight

 • Air Force Reserve jet car race

 • C-17 tactical demonstration

 • Bud and Ross Granley dueling YAKs

 • F/A-18F Super Hornet tactical demonstration

 • Navy Tailhook legacy flight

 • Tim Weber Geico Extra 300

 • Pearl Harbor re-enactment

 • Thunderbirds

Access to McChord will be open to the public on both days. Edwards said there’s plenty of parking but expect traffic to be jammed on Bridgeport Way Southwest leading into the base from Interstate 5.

Pierce Transit is operating free buses from the Highway 512 Park & Ride lot and from Lakewood Towne Center.

Visitors will go through one of two security checkpoints to get into the show area. Fanny packs and diaper bags are subject to search.

“The rule of thumb is if you can’t get on an airplane with it, you can’t get on the flightline with it,” Edwards said. “Security is not going to let you do so.”

A few other notable restrictions: No bikes, skateboards or in-line skates. No pets. No coolers, weapons, glass bottles, alcohol or backpacks.

Michael Gilbert, The News Tribune SOME AIRCRAFT WORTH SEEING

CV-22 OSPREY

Mission: Long-range infiltration of troops, exfiltration and resupply for special operations

Crew: Four (pilot, co-pilot, two flight engineers)

Cost: $89 million (2005 dollars)

Length: 57 feet, 4 inches

Wingspan: 84 feet, 7 inches

Speed: 277 mph

With its tiltrotor engines, the Osprey combines the vertical takeoff, hover and vertical landing of a helicopter with the long-range capabilities of a turboprop plane. It can carry 24 to 32 troops or 10,000 pounds of cargo.

C-17 GLOBEMASTER III

Mission: Rapid strategic delivery of troops and all types of cargo

Crew: Three (pilot, co-pilot, loadmaster)

Cost: $202.3 million (in 1998 dollars)

Length: 174 feet

Wingspan: 169 feet, 10 inches

Speed: 450 knots

The C-17 is the newest, most flexible cargo aircraft to enter the airlift force. Pierce County residents are familiar with it because it’s the workhorse of McChord Air Force Base. It has been flying in support of both military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

F-16 (F-16D) FIGHTING FALCON

Mission: Highly maneuverable multirole fighter

Crew: One or two pilots

Cost: $14.6-$18.8 million (1998 dollars)

Length: 49 feet, 5 inches

Wingspan: 32 feet, 8 inches

Speed: 1,500 mph

The F-16 is a compact fighter proved in air-to-air and air-to-surface attacks. It can fly in all weather. There are one-seat and two-seat models. Deployed in the Gulf War in 1991, it flew more sorties than any other aircraft. Since 9/11 it has flown thousands of Homeland Security and overseas war-zone missions.

AIR FORCE RESERVE JET CAR

Mission: Entertainment

Crew: One driver

Car: 2,200-pound Mustang

Power: Westinghouse J34-48 jet engine

Speed: 400 mph

It looks like a long, low toy, but the big jet engine sticking out of the back says “Stand back!” When driver Bill Braack, a member of the Air Force Reserve for 20 years, cranks it, the jet car can hit top speed in eight seconds. Braack can beat air show performers foolish enough to try to match their planes against him. He even gives them a head start.

Sources: U.S. Air Force Fact Sheets, U.S. Air Force ReserveCompiled by News Tribune staff writer Mike Archbold