Every year, on Independence Day, the city of Tacoma holds its Freedom Fair. Over a mile of road is closed along the waterfront, and Marine Park is covered with stages for live performances, vendors selling art and food and clothes, booths representing many businesses and causes, and every other kind of attraction… with many people camping and having picnics and barbecues in between.

The highlight of Freedom Fair is, of course, the airshow. A variety of demos and fly-bys is featured each Fourth of July over Commencement Bay. The weather does not always cooperate, but this year the clouds were just high enough to allow for aerobatics, and the rain seemed to keep its distance, so the airshow went ahead.

The aerial demonstrations started with Will Allen, the “flying tenor”, doing his one-of-a-kind airshow act in his Decathlon: he sings the national anthem (and broadcasts it from his airplane over a custom high-fidelity radio sound system) while performing aerobatics. Once the singing ends, he kicks it up a notch and goes through the more intense part of his aerobatic routine. It’s always fun to see an airplane that looks like a tame Cessna being put through such high-energy flying.

A few local warbirds then entertained the crowd. Bud Granley did several fly-bys in his elegant Fouga Magister, adding a little bit of jet noise to the afternoon. Bill Shepherd then did a few passes in his surprisingly fast Yak-11. Both pilots put their airplanes through some smooth rolls and tight turns, showing off their powerful machines.

Tim Weber then demonstrated the capabilities of his Extra 300, by tumbling and snapping it around the air with amazing skill. No other pilot that afternoon quite matched the accelerations and roll rates he could pull off, nor slowed their airplanes down quite so close to a hover.

But Bud Granley wanted a shot at it, so he came back with his Yak-55. His son Ross was right behind him in a four-seater aerobatic Yak-18T. After Bud did some high-powered aerobatics of his own, the father-and-son team performed many graceful maneuvers in the two Yaks: Opposing passes, tail chases, inside-outside loops, dives, bomb bursts, steeply slipping the airplanes in opposite directions, and rolling them back-to-back. The choreographed display of two round-engined Russian airplanes was definitely more than the sum of its parts.

Bringing back the jet noise, in an airplane several times heavier than all previous aircraft combined, the folks from nearby McChord AFB did a demo in one of their C-17s. Airshow crowds all over the US are familiar with how this massive four-engine cargo hauler can fly very slowly, climb steeply, and turn tight almost like a fighter. It’s always impressive to see such a huge airplane being put through these paces.

And speaking of fighters, the show included two of the best tactical demos in the airshow circuit. The US Navy brought an F/A-18 Hornet, whose roar caused kids up and down the waterfront to bring their hands up to their ears. From slow dirty passes simulating a carrier approach, to fast afterburning passes and tight turns condensing water out of the air, the Hornet pilot made it clear why this airplane is one of the most versatile platforms in the Navy.

Not to be outdone, the USAF closed out the show with an F-16 Viper demo. It, too, included its share of very slow flight, very fast flight, and tight turns, as well as several rolls and knife-edge passes that allowed everyone to get a look at the sleek jet from all angles. A Dedication Pass right over the crowd at full afterburner brought the airshow to a close.

With consistently great flying year after year, the people of Tacoma are lucky to celebrate America’s freedom with displays of the machines that best embody it. Aviation enthusiasts all around Puget Sound already look forward to next year’s Freedom Fair… and cross their fingers for weather at least as cooperative!