The Florida International AirShow’s 26th event will be held on March 31^st, April 1^st & 2^nd 2006. The show celebrates 26 years of family oriented entertainment and aviation education. There will be many new and exciting performers at the 2006 show.
      The 2006 Florida International AirShow featured the famed U.S. Air Force's Thunderbirds and the U. S. Army Golden Knights.

     The Thunderbirds were officially activated June 1, 1953, as the 3600th Air Demonstration Team at Luke AFB, Ariz. Their first aircraft was the straight-winged F-84G Thunderjet, a combat fighter-bomber that had seen action in Korea. Early in 1955 the team transitioned to the swept-winged F-84F Thunderstreak.
     In June 1956, the team moved to its current home at Nellis. At the same time the Thunderbirds traded the veteran F-84 for the world's first supersonic fighter, the F-100 Super Sabre -- an aerial platform that would serve the Thunderbirds for 13 years. More than 1,000 demonstrations were flown in the Super Sabre, thrilling spectators around the world. The team changed briefly to the Republic F-105 Thunderchief. After only six shows, in 1964, due to an extensive modification that became necessary on all Thunderchiefs, the Thunderbirds returned to the F-100.
     From 1969 to 1973, the Thunderbirds flew the Air Force's front-line fighter, the F-4E Phantom. In 1974, the Thunderbirds converted to the T-38 Talon, the world's first supersonic trainer. The T-38 was more fuel-efficient and less costly to maintain than the larger F-4.
     Early in 1983, the Thunderbirds reinstituted their traditional role of demonstrating the Air Force's front-line fighter capabilities. Transition to the F-16A allowed the team to retain manpower and fuel efficiency while demonstrating to spectators the latest in fighter technology.
     The Thunderbirds returned to Europe for the first time in 13 years in 1984. More than 3.2 million people viewed the aerial demonstrations in 11 countries.
     In 1986, the Thunderbirds participated in the rededication flyby of the Statue of Liberty and in September, another milestone was attained when the team went over the 200 million mark for total attendance.
     The largest crowd, 2.25 million people, to see a performance was at Coney Island, N.Y., July 4, 1987. The 1987 Far East tour marked their debut in Beijing, China -- the first American military demonstration performance in a Communist country.
     Operation Desert Storm cancelled the 1990 European tour and the season was shortened. The team converted to the F-16C in 1992, bringing the F-16A era to an end.
     In 1996, the team traveled again to Europe where crowds from former Warsaw Pact countries enjoyed the "Ambassadors in Blue." In July 1996, the team participated in opening ceremonies of the Centennial Olympics held in Atlanta which were viewed by an estimated 3.5 billion people around the world.

     Being the goodwill ambassadors for the U.S. Army is a big job, one the U.S. Army Parachute Team, “Golden Knights” thrives on. Soldiers on the Golden Knights do their best work at 12,500 feet above the earth’s surface, racing to the ground at speeds in excess of 120 mph and landing with smiles, ready to do it all again, in front of 20,000 spectators.
     For more than 44 years the U. S. Army Parachute Team has been entertaining both young and old with precision parachute demonstrations.
In order to compete in the then communist dominated sport of skydiving the 13-man Strategic Army Corps Sport Parachute Team was created in 1959. The parachute team performed so well that on June 1, 1961 the Army officially recognized, designated and activated the team as the U.S. Army Parachute Team.
     A year later the team adopted its nickname, “Golden Knights.” Golden, signies the Team’s reputation of bringing home gold medals from skydiving competitions. Knights, indicate the team had “conquered the skies: and alludes to the fact that Team members are champions of principle and conquest.
     The team earned a title of the Army’s goodwill ambassadors to the world, by proving time and again that they are the best in the world. The Golden Knights have performed more than 14,000 shows in all 50 states and 48 countries.
     Annually the Team performs more than 27,000 jumps before an estimated 12 million people.
     The Golden Knights have a three-fold mission 1) to perform aerial demonstrations to the public and promote the Army and its recruitment effort, 2) to compete in national and international parachuting competitions and 3) test and evaluate new parachuting equipment and techniques for improved operations and safety.

- American Legion Post 103 in Punta Gorda
- Chamber of Commerce Englewood
- Chamber of Commerce Port Charlotte
- Chamber of Commerce Punta Gorda
- (Other area Chambers of Commerce sell via the internet)
- All 75 SunTrust Bank outlets
- Herald-Tribune Offices in Sarasota, Pt. Charlotte, Venice, Manatee, & Englewood
- Charlotte County Airport starting March 7, 2005

Where: The Florida International Air Show will take place at the Charlotte County Airport in Punta Gorda.

Directions to The Florida International Air Show:

• From the South: Take I-75 to Exit 161 (Old 28)
• From the North: Take I-75 to Exit 164 (Old 29) and follow the signs