A regular school bus might not be the fastest vehicle on the road, but add a jet engine and it can reach 300 mph and rival a speeding airplane.

Andrew Fearn, the manager of the Coles County Memorial Airport, said this scenario would be the grand finale of their annual air show.

“The school bus starts from a dead start,” he said. “The plane will come over from the top at full speed and they’ll race each other. That should be pretty good because they’re usually real close.”

Paul Stender, a designer and builder of jet-powered land vehicles, will be driving the bus. He also built a jet-powered version of comic strip character Snoopy’s doghouse that will be part of the show.

There will also be air displays by various World War II planes.

Vlado Lenoch, a pilot who flies with the United States Air Force Demonstration Teams, will be doing a full aerobatic routine in a P-51 Mustang, which Fearn said was “one of the best fighter planes we had in World War II.”

“He’s as good as you’ll see,” Fearn said. “He just does a really nice job of showing you the capability of that plane.”

Clyde Zellers, a pilot for the Illinois Department of Transportation, will be going through a basic training routine on a World War II Navy SNJ trainer, which Fearn said is a big, noisy plane that is a little slower than the others.

Cliff Robison, the owner and chief pilot of Robinson Aerobatics, will be flying a Stearman Aircraft.

“These are world class performers,” Fearn said. “They’re as good as you’re gonna see anywhere.”

There will also be a number of airplanes on display, such as a T-6 Texan, a B-25 Mitchell Bomber, a Douglas Skyraider, a TBM Avenger attack dive plane, a C45 Expeditor cargo plane and a Navy SNJ.

As impressive as the airplane tricks are, Fearn said the comments he hears most often are from people in awe of seeing real pieces of history.

“These are all World War II, Korea (and) Vietnam era planes,” he said. “And I have people come up to me after the show and say, ‘Hey my boy and I were watching The History Channel the other day and this plane was on it and we got to come out and actually touch it and talk to the pilot.”

The event will also feature helicopter rides, monster truck rides, carnival food and children’s activities.

The airshow will be from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Coles County Memorial Airport.

Stephanie Markham can be reached at 581-2812 or DENverge@gmail.com.