Jeremy Sizemore Share Posted March 19, 2013 Louisville Kentucky has a great aviation community. A week before the Kentucky derby (Saturday May 4th 2013) we have a derby Kick-off festival. There is a HUMONGOUS airshow followed by one of the worlds largest fireworks shows. A search on YouTube for Thunder Over Louisville will give you an idea of what it's like. More than a million people are on the banks of the Ohio river separating Louisville Kentucky from Jeffersonville Indiana. My father has been the FAA coordinator for the past 10 years and still continues with it, and because of that I get a great sneak peak into each years airshow. For up to a week ahead of Thunder, then through the Kentucky Derby its self, the local municipal airport KLOU is a sight to be seen. It swarms with all kinds of private jets, personal GA family aircraft, as well as hundreds of aircraft military and civilian alike that are participating in the air show. Though not remarkable, Louisville has it's own unique airspace as well. KSDF is the international airport and one of the main hubs for UPS's air fleet. Tucked into a wedge of the class C airspace around KSDF, is a small class D airport KLOU. Having such close towered airports together makes for interesting ATC handoffs when approaching KLOU from the west. This is my own little slice of home, and I have been flying here for 15 years. I thought it would be neat to see this as an event, perhaps even around the actual KY Derby. KLOU does not have an ILS, which could challenge some of us that do not get much experience with VOR approaches. The big birds flying into KSDF would have all the things they are used to there. There is also an uncontrolled field just to the north, KJVY, which has an ILS. And for the military minded folks, Goodman Army Airfield KFTK is right down the road to the southwest. Fort Knox Kentucky. Watch out, there are some Restricted areas around there. Must protect all that gold! Just thought I'd throw that out there and see if anyone else would like to see a fly in event at this location. Link to comment
