‘Warbirds’ Air Show Returns To Monroe

Whenever I think of the "Warbirds Over Monroe" air show, I always think of my dad. The list of things we did together when I was growing up is long, but one of my favorites was building model airplanes. I think dad got me into it to teach me patience and attention to detail, but also to share his love of World War II era aircraft. If you've got a dad like mine, or if you'd like to share a love of historical aircraft, then the upcoming, annual air show is for you.

Veteran's Day Weekend (11/9-11/10) will find the skies over Monroe and Union County filled with WWII era aircraft at Charlotte-Monroe Executive Airport, 3900 Paul J. Helms Drive. And most will be on display for up close viewing before the show. Show organizer Pete Hovanec is quoted by the Monroe Enquirer Journal, "We are excited to once again bring history alive through our planes in the air and on the ground. Aside from honoring our veterans, the Warbirds Over Monroe Air Show allows the significance of many of these forgotten pieces of aviation and U.S. history to be shared across generations in a way that is respectful, fun and exciting."

Tickets for "Warbirds Over Monroe" are available at www.monroenc.org or at the gate for $20 for adults, $15 for ages 12-18 $5 for current and former military members. Children under 12 get in free. To look around, you are encouraged to arrive early as the gates open at 9am. The air show itself gets started at noon. Also, folding chairs and blankets for seating are encouraged and although cameras are allowed, drones are a no-no.

Flying can be stressful these days. And for the most part, you don't have too many options where you fly out or into. So when you need to get to your destination on time, it's comforting to know that our local airport-Charlotte Douglas- ranks as one of the most on-time US Airports. I've flown several times in the past few months in/out of a total of 6 different airports and somehow I've gotten lucky and not had any significant delays or issues. But I'm well aware that's not commonplace. Which is why this is such a telling and remarkable statistic.

It comes from a study by Booking.com, in which they ranked the US airports based on a number of key metrics. This included the percentage of flights that depart on time which is what Charlotte-Douglas ranked high in. To create their overall rankings they also used the average Google review score, average daily aircraft operations, total passengers on flights, the number of shops and restaurants, and other metrics. CLT didn't crack the top 10 for overall rankings, but timeliness is in my opinion the most important. Shops and restaurants are nice, but ultimately I'm in the airport to get to somewhere else.

Keep reading to see exactly where Charlotte Douglas ranked for on-time flights (hint it's top 5). You'll also find the top 10 highest-rated US Airports. Want to read the full Booking.com study? You can do so here.

City: Atlanta

% of flights on time: 87.1

City: Honolulu

% of flights on time: 85.97

City: Minneapolis

% of flights on time: 85.91

City: Salt Lake City

% of flights on time: 85.27

City: Charlotte

% of flights on time: 85.23

City: Chicago

Score (Out of 10): 7.1

% On Time: 80.3

Avg. Google Review Score: 4

Avg. Daily Aircraft Operations: 2520

Shops: 105

Restaurants: 165

City: New York (Queens)

Score (Out of 10): 7.0

% On Time: 77.8

Avg. Google Review Score: 4

Avg. Daily Aircraft Operations: 1249

Shops: 121

Restaurants: 139

City: San Francisco

Score (Out of 10): 6.5

% On Time: 82.6

Avg. Google Review Score: 4.3

Avg. Daily Aircraft Operations: 1256

Shops: 59

Restaurants: 66

City: Denver

Score (Out of 10): 6.2

% On Time: 77.3

Avg. Google Review Score: 4.2

Avg. Daily Aircraft Operations: 1731

Shops: 87

Restaurants: 91

City: Minneapolis

Score (Out of 10): 6.1

% On Time: 85.9

Avg. Google Review Score: 4.3

Avg. Daily Aircraft Operations: 1113

Shops: 33

Restaurants: 66

City: Glen Burnie

Score (Out of 10): 6.1

% On Time: 78.9

Avg. Google Review Score: 4.3

Avg. Daily Aircraft Operations: 719

Shops: 49

Restaurants: 59

City: Los Angeles

Score (Out of 10): 6.0

% On Time: 81.4

Avg. Google Review Score: 3.9

Avg. Daily Aircraft Operations: 1894

Shops: 85

Restaurants: 92

City: Newark

Score (Out of 10): 5.9

% On Time: 73.6

Avg. Google Review Score: 3.7

Avg. Daily Aircraft Operations: 1223

Shops: 75

Restaurants: 126

City: Detroit

Score (Out of 10): 5.9

% On Time: 84.7

Avg. Google Review Score: 4.3

Avg. Daily Aircraft Operations: 1087

Shops: 30

Restaurants: 48

City: Pittsburgh

Score (Out of 10): 5.8

% On Time: 78.5

Avg. Google Review Score: 4.5

Avg. Daily Aircraft Operations: 406

Shops: 17

Restaurants: 25