The fourteenth annual Quad Cities Airshow takes place this weekend, but if you can’t make it, you can catch it on cable later this year. It’s considered one of the top three civilian shows in the country, and the History Channel is filming a two-hour special there on how to plan an airshow. Founder and president Ken Hopper says the event at the Davenport Municipal Airport features the Blue Angels Navy flying team this year. He says it costs about a million dollars to put on the airshow, and the event is seeking a corporate sponsor so the production can be staged without having to sell tickets. Hopper says it takes a year and-a-half to plan an airshow, so the 2002 show has been in the works for months even as they prepare to put on this year’s event. Hopper says this year’s performers include the people who created the hit film “Pearl Harbor.” “America’s Airpower,” a group of Texas pilots, will recreate the attack on Pearl Harbor, and civilians include an all-woman parachute team, “Misty Blues.” The four-hour performance includes the Navy’s Blue Angels as well as other attractions. It’s Saturday and Sunday (June 23-24) at the Davenport Municipal Airport. Hopper was just released from a Davenport hospital Thursday, after he was injured earlier this week when a helicopter he was piloting crashed. Witnesses said the craft was about ten feet off the ground when its engine apparently malfunctioned.
