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1911 — present
The exhibition tradition is as old as the flying: South Bend's first air show was its first flight — Simon's 1911 exhibition before 30,000 people, told at the head of this section. The documented modern edition is Skyfest Michiana, held at the airport on 17–18 August 2002: a contemporary show report records a B-1B Lancer, an F-117, A-10 and F-16 displays with a USAF Heritage Flight flown with a P-51, and a warbird line that included a B-17, a B-25, and the MATS Constellation. The field's standing aviation festival is educational rather than aerobatic: the airport's Aviation Education Day, held at the Studebaker Hangar at 4817 Lincoln Way West, just west of the terminal, reached its seventh annual edition on 23 August 2025. No performance by the Blue Angels or the Thunderbirds at South Bend appears in the sources reached for this section, and none is claimed.
Sources:
- Contemporary airshow report, Skyfest Michiana, South Bend Airport, 17–18 August 2002 (aviationinmalta.com) — the B-1B, F-117, A-10 and F-16/Heritage Flight displays and the warbird line.
- St. Joseph County Airport Authority — Aviation Education Day, seventh annual, 23 August 2025, at the Studebaker Hangar, 4817 Lincoln Way West.