The Air Show Before the Air Show: Building a Weekend City at Punta Gorda Airport
Led by Terry McNinney, the volunteer Red Caps help transform airport grounds into a welcoming destination for thousands.
PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — Before the first aircraft takes center stage at the Florida International Air Show, another kind of coordinated performance unfolds on the ground.
Seating areas take shape. Signs point visitors toward entrances and attractions. Tents become gathering places, merchandise areas and information centers. Open grounds gradually become a temporary community built to welcome thousands of people for a weekend of aviation.
That transformation depends on planning, physical work and volunteers willing to spend long hours preparing for an event many attendees will experience for only a day.
Among those leading the effort is Terry McNinney, team lead for the Florida International Air Show’s Red Caps. In the few short days before the Nov. 7–8 event at Punta Gorda Airport, McNinney works alongside several dozen Red Cap volunteers to help prepare the grounds.
Their work is part of a larger undertaking that brings together event operations, logistics, vendors, guest services and other teams. Setting up an air show means thinking through how people will arrive, where they will go and what they will need throughout the day.
Parking areas need clear directions. Entrances must be organized for arriving crowds. Seating and hospitality areas require preparation. Merchandise needs to be arranged, information locations readied and signs positioned where guests can see them.
Behind those visible details are equally important preparations: establishing communications, briefing volunteers, coordinating deliveries and keeping access routes clear for operational and emergency needs. Each piece must fit within an airport environment where safety and coordination guide the work.
For McNinney and the Red Caps, the assignment is practical and personal: help create grounds that are organized, welcoming and ready for attendees.
Their contribution can be easy to overlook once the gates open. A guest finds the right entrance, follows a directional sign or settles into a prepared viewing area without seeing the hours of work that made that moment possible.
That is precisely where the Red Caps’ impact is felt.
The team’s efforts also support the volunteers who will greet visitors, answer questions and assist families throughout the weekend. Preparing the grounds gives those guest-services teams the foundation they need to help attendees enjoy their day.
While pilots prepare their aircraft and performances, volunteers on the ground prepare the experience around them. Both require teamwork, attention to detail and people who understand that every assignment contributes to the event.
By the time gates open at 9 a.m., much of that early work will blend into the background. For McNinney and the Red Caps, the result will be visible in a showground ready to welcome its guests.
