How to know if your airport is hosting an air show?

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Jim Bishop

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Jim
I am a new pilot that was planning on my second flight with my new PPL! I spent several hours planning the flight using VFR charts, Paper Nav Logs, ForeFlight and the aviation weather website. I retrieved a briefing through ForeFlight that included all relevant NOTAMs.
However, when I arrived at my local airport there was a WWII air show in progress. There was a lot of traffic in the air and a large crowd of people that I would have to taxi the aircraft around. I canceled my flight due to not being completely comfortable operating in and out of the airspace with all of the activity.

My question is, why did this not show up in the NOTAMs? Would a standard briefing through 1800wxbrief cover this and is ForeFlight not reliable enough? How can I avoid this surprise in the future?

Thanks for any advice for a new pilot.
 
Weathermeister has a good TFR depiction map.

Also, some aerial events don’t warrant a TFR. For instance just to today, one of my coworkers (medcrew) said their airport is hosting “their annual air show.” While there are statics and passenger rides, it’s not an air show. No demos, no TFR.
 
Thanks. Probably the case here as well. I probably would’ve been fine but I had my wife with me and I didn’t need anymore distractions. I just need to get a little more time under my belt.
Main thing is, I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something in my preflight planning. I believe you have answered my questions.

Thank you very much.
 
There should have been a NOTAM on it as usually an airport is closed to traffic during the flying demonstrations portion of an airshow.
 
GRG55 said:
There should have been a NOTAM on it as usually an airport is closed to traffic during the flying demonstrations portion of an airshow.
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There are no NOTAMs posted currently. The airport is KMGM. Maybe I am missing the NOTAM. It could be as Velocity173 posted that it didn’t warrant a NOTAM.
There is still traffic in and out of the airport. Probably just me being overly cautious.
 
I'm at a fly-in (Talkeetna AK) right now... there will be TO/LDG demos and fly-by's and stuff, and crowds on the lawn by the taxiways, but it's also not "enough" of an air show to warrant a NOTAM. More like a friendly gathering with a schedule. People will be coming and going all day. Uncontrolled field.

Last weekend, Valdez had their annual fly-in, which was a much bigger deal. They set up a temporary tower/ground with their own frequencies, and airspace did get shut down during aerobatics. That got NOTAMed.
 
Flying to a busy fly-in can be intimidating. But as long as participants fly in an orderly manner, it's not a problem. Stay concise on the radio and don't get mad when someone cuts you off. Good on you for checking NOTAMs. My favorite tool is actually the official briefing at Leidos. It's quite decent at filtering.
 
Jim Bishop said:
There are no NOTAMs posted currently. The airport is KMGM. Maybe I am missing the NOTAM. It could be as Velocity173 posted that it didn’t warrant a NOTAM.
There is still traffic in and out of the airport. Probably just me being overly cautious.
Click to expand...

If the airport is not being shut to traffic at any stage during the gathering then an NOTAM is not likely. Where I live we would call that a "fly-in" rather than an airshow, but that's just semantics. Lot's of our fly-ins have static displays and periodic aerial demonstrations and flights during the event, but the airport is not closed to other traffic.

If it was busy, and you were uncomfortable with the unusual level of traffic, you did the right thing. Flying is supposed to be fun, not a source of stress. Wait for a more normal traffic day and go have some fun with your wife as your passenger!
 
You’ve got the CAF Air Power history tour in town (MGM) this weekend. No air show, therefore no TFR. Give em $2K and go flying in a Mustang!

http://www.airpowersquadron.org/
 
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Velocity173 said:
Also, some aerial events don’t warrant a TFR. For instance just to today, one of my coworkers (medcrew) said their airport is hosting “their annual air show.” While there are statics and passenger rides, it’s not an air show. No demos, no TFR.
Click to expand...

Same thing at KCZL today. Wings & wheels event. Lots of air traffic. No TFR. Pretty easy getting in and out...
 
Flocker said:
Same thing at KCZL today. Wings & wheels event. Lots of air traffic. No TFR. Pretty easy getting in and out...
Click to expand...

Yep, the exact event I was referring to. Probably saw our EMS helicopter there.
 
There are a few ways to tell...

If you are intercepted by a P-51, your airport may be hosting an air show.

If a crowd cheers when you survive a scary landing, your airport may be hosting an air show.

If visibility is reported as 1/4 mile in multicolored smoke, your airport may be hosting an air show.
 
Foreflight is usually 99% on the TFR's. You said you checked Foreflight?
 
Checking news or events on the air port's website/forum is not an option?
 
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