Taking flight: Warbirds dazzle at Spanish Fork’s biggest air show to date
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- Pilot Jerry Conley flies his deHavilland DH-115 at the Wings and Wheels air show Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Spanish Fork.
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- A four-engine privateer bomber flies at the Wings and Wheels air show Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Spanish Fork.
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- A pilot drives past the crowd after landing his plane at the Wings and Wheels air show Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Spanish Fork.
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- A T33 Blue Angel flies at the Wings and Wheels air show Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Spanish Fork.
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- People check out the planes at the Wings and Wheels air show Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Spanish Fork.
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- A Spitfire Mk.Vc flies at the Wings and Wheels air show Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Spanish Fork.
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- A T33 Blue Angel flies at the Wings and Wheels air show Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Spanish Fork.
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- A four-engine privateer bomber flies at the Wings and Wheels air show Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Spanish Fork.
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- Pilot Jerry Conley flies his deHavilland DH-115 close to the ground at the Wings and Wheels air show Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Spanish Fork.
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- Pilot Jerry Conley flies his deHavilland DH-115 at the Wings and Wheels air show Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Spanish Fork.
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- A boy stands up in a plane exhibited at the Wings and Wheels air show Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Spanish Fork.
A record crowd turned out Saturday to see the nation’s most iconic planes display their speed and power at Spanish Fork’s annual air show.
An estimated 20,000-plus people attended the annual Wings and Wheels event at Spanish Fork Airport, according to airport manager Christian Davis, enjoying a day of aerobatic airplanes and warbirds zooming through the skies.
Car show and aircraft exhibits on the ground also piqued the interest of vehicle enthusiasts.
The flying lineup was “by far” the largest to date, said Davis, and included a group of World War II aircraft, like the PBY Catalina, B-17 bomber and a four-engine Privateer bomber.
The show was a celebration of the county’s storied aviation heritage, according to Davis.
“It’s keeping the history of aviation alive with all the incredible aircraft that we have here that have a long, storied history with World War II and conflicts across the world,” he said. “It’s neat to kind of have that little piece of history. … The multitude of large warbirds that we have here is really unusual for an air show and an airport our size.”
Several warbirds took to the air in the afternoon, zooming past a long crowd of spectators that covered the west side of the runway while pyrotechnics explosives were ignited to add intensity to the experience.
A final performance came from a deHavilland DH-115 operated by Jerry Conley, who’s cockpit audio was connected to the speaker blasting out the crowd.
While airborne, Conley declared to the crowd his final run would be in honor of the late Charlie Kirk and his family before daringly dropping his plane an estimated 100 feet from the tarmac before zooming back upward, much to the crowd’s delight.
It takes an extensive amount of coordination to put on such a show, David said, from working to get aircraft, vendors and cars. Most planes are not based in Utah, but are flown in different states across the county.
The event has continued to grow in popularity since starting over a decade ago, becoming not only a regional air show but a national and international attraction, according to Davis.
“We’ve seen a lot of people come from out of state just for this event,” he said. “There’s a couple from Europe that came just for this event this year.”
That popularity comes with continued challenges accommodating parking, which the airport is working to address.
Those who braved the traffic Saturday were in for a treat, though: They may have been the last to see pyrotechnics at the air show.
“This probably is our last year with pyrotechnic explosives,” Davis said. “Just a lot of the development that we have going out of the airport on the north side that’s going to hedge out the safety areas that we need for pyro in the future.”
