2013 American Heroes Air Show

Fort Myers, Florida: Baseball is still a month away but JetBlue Park came to life Saturday thanks to the American Heroes Air Show. The sights and sounds of helicopters ranging from the small Robinson R-22 to as large a MH-60 Nighthawk dazzled the crowd.

As the early morning fog began to lift, the helicopters began to appear on the horizon. They started out slow, one at a time. But that quickly gave way to a flurry of activity. At one point, there were four helicopter in various stages of arrival. In a controlled chaos, members of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Civil Air Patrol worked hard to put each helicopter in their place.

Once everyone was in place, the gates were opened to the public. Masses rushed to the field to get an up close view of the helicopters. You could see the excitement in the faces of the visitors as they looked inside their favorite helicopters or swapped stories with the pilots of their favorite one. The roll call for the event was a who’s who of local helicopter aviation.

Sixteen helicopters were on display from various federal, state and local agencies. In attendance at this year’s event were:

• Aeromed (Eurocopter EC-135) 
• Boatpix.com (Robinson R-22) 
• Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office (Bell OH-58) 
• Collier County Sheriff’s Office (Bell OH-58) 
• Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (Eurocopter EC-120) 
• Joann Air (Hiller UH-12) 
• Lee County Mosquito Control (Bell 206, Bell 407, UH-1 Iroquois) 
• Lee County Sheriff’s Office (two Eurocopter AS-350) 
• O’Brien Helicopters (Agusta A109) 
• Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office (Bell 407) 
• US Customs and Border Patrol Jacksonville (Eurocopter AS-350) 
• US Navy NAS Key West (MH-60 Nighthawk) 
• US Navy Naval Station Norfolk (MH-60 Nighthawk) 

While the helicopters were the main event, the show had much more to offer. There were display booths, vendors and much to to see and do.  Several special ops law enforcement vehicles were also on display from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. Included in the display was the Mobile Command Center, Marine Unit, Bomb Squad and SWAT Team.

FDNY Squad 5 was also on display. Squad 5 responded to the World Trade Center on 9/11, suffering eleven casualties. Today the squad travels the country though the Remembrance Rescue Project in an effort to educate, honor and remember.

A scale replica of the Vietnam Wall courtesy of the American Veterans Traveling Tribute was on hand for visitor’s to pay their respects to those who paid the ultimate price to ensure our freedom.


Rounding out the show was a special naturalization ceremony. During the ceremony, the crowd was introduced to 52 new American citizens.

The American Heroes Air Show is a nationwide event and occurs in seven cities throughout the United States. It is the largest helicopter show in the country and is dedicated to demonstrating “Courage at the Speed of Flight.”

Click on the photo above to view a photo gallery from the 2013 American Heroes Air Show.