Observations On The Return Of The Atlantic City, NJ, Airshow

Visit Atlantic City had just 133 days to plan for the return of the Atlantic City Airshow.

The practice day was held this past Tuesday and yesterday was the officially return after a one year hiatus.

They delivered a high quality airshow that was surrounded by a bunch of other great activities:

• Jimmy Johnson’s Quest For The Ring fishing tournament
• FIFA Activation
• Vintage car show
• Two silent movie films
• Beachfront Fireworks
• ESPN’s Slippery Stairs

The Inaugural Soar & Shore Festival Is The Vision of Gary Musich

Gary Musich is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Visit Atlantic City.

Musich was committed to bringing back the Atlantic City Airshow. However, Musich wanted more. He wanted a festival atmosphere, featuring a week-long series of entertaining, high quality events.

New Airshow Partner, Air Boss & Airshow Announcer

Herb Gillen Airshows did a great job. They are headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, where they produce, market, and provide consulting services for air shows all over America.

Air Boss Kelly Hudson was as cool as they come. She was unflappable with the many moving parts of directing air space. The program was tight and it ran on time.

The stars of any airshow are always the performers and the great aerial apparatus.

Another true star of the Visit Atlantic City Airshow 2025 was airshow announcer Luke Carrico.

I knew the great Howdy McCann, Jr. for more than 20 years. He passed away suddenly a few years ago. Howdy was my previous gold standard for airshow announcers.

Carrico delivered an absolute masterclass at yesterday’s Visit Atlantic City Airshow. His show preparation was exemplary and his silky smooth voice was poetry in motion.

Visit Atlantic City Airshow Apparatus Highlights

• Misty Blues Parachute Team - All-women skydiving team.
• 177th Fighter Wing, New Jersey ANG - Four F-16 flybys.
• B-25 Mitchell Bomber - Legendary WWII aircraft.
• 108WG KC-46 Pegasus - Aerial refueling tanker

• Third Strike Wingwalking - Dual wingwalking + solo acrobatics. This was a death defying, incredible performance. I think it was my favorite moment if a great airshow.
• Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 Fighter - Cold War-era Soviet jet … the finale and showstopper presenter.

Gary Musich On Summer, 2025

This summer marks an incredible period of growth and momentum for Atlantic City," said Gary Musich, President and CEO of Visit Atlantic City and the Atlantic City Sports Commission. With milestone anniversaries, more than $100 million in resort investments, and key partnerships and collaborations, we're seeing clear signs of Atlantic City's continued growth. Our casino resorts and hotels are prepared to welcome larger crowds this season, as new experiences and continued investment drive visitation across Atlantic City and its region,” said Musich.

My Final Take

The return of the Atlantic City Airshow was a great effort, particularly taking into consideration the abbreviated time schedule that Visit Atlantic City had to put this quality event together.

Musich intends to build it bigger and better from here. Beach Chalets will return next year. Musich is striving to set Visit Atlantic City Airshow dates for the next two years.

Visit Atlantic City has demonstrated that they are capable of presenting large scale, great special events, such as boxing, concerts and the still ongoing Visit Atlantic City Soar & Shore Festival.

NOTE OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE:

Thank you to our Townsquare Media South Jersey team, Michael Ruble, Joe Kelly, Jennifer Doughten Smith and Chris Coleman for their support in making our WPG Talk Radio 7 hour live broadcast possible.