I think that shutter priority is the only way to fly. If you have good light, you'll get more than sufficient DOF to cover the plane and use the sweet spot of the lens.
I made a huge mistake, in not using higher shutter speeds for my shots of the jets and even some of the shots of the hotrod Mustang pilot, because most of them had motion blur and were ruined by that. Dunno why I didn't think of it, but IIRC, all of my shots were 1/200 to 1/250, for the planes in flight. That was pretty stupid, like DUH, jets are faster planes!
Prop planes, in flight, need about 1/250 to 1/300 to blur the props nicely. Jets need a much higher shutter speed, at least 1/500, I think, probably higher would be even better, so long as you can keep a decent aperture for keeping the entire plane in focus. If necessary, I'd suggest bumping your ISO to make sure you keep a minimum of f/8 to f/10 at a minimum of 1/500 for the jets. Again, I'm not sure about how slow you can go for the really fast movers, but I think 1/500 will get you in the ballpark, but I think I'd rather run 1/1000 for the jets, if I could. You might want to research the shutter speeds folks are using on the jets, to nail that down better.
The only time the lower shutter speeds work okay on the jets and speedy prop planes is when they're flying in mixed formation, a jet with a prop plane.
The other time slower shutter speeds are needed, is when you have prop planes taxiing or idling, waiting for takeoff. 1/200 worked "okay", but 1/150 or so worked better, I think, to blur the props. You still might want deep DOF with those shots, depending on how far away you are.
Real deep DOF is not a huge issue for the smaller planes or when the larger planes are farther away, but the big planes, close up, need some serious DOF. I have shots of the Lancaster and B-51 bombers in flight, which are very large, slow planes, so the slow shutter speeds and deep DOF worked great.
IMO, your best shots will come from the turns that the planes make, either at the start or finish of their runs down the main flight path, when the sun is hitting them directly. If you're lucky, they'll be using an east/west runway for their main show path. Get as close to their turn area as possible, like the west end of the runway in the morning and the east end in the afternoon. Most of the pilots will turn and dip their wings, so you can get some really nice shots of the top of the planes, if you're close enough to their flight pattern turns. Then you just zoom out and pan to follow them through their speed runs for the crowds, if you're at the start turn. The opposite, of course, if you're at the end of their run.
If this is your first show, be patient. Zoom in on the plane, get your focus and don't start shooting until about 2/3's of the frame is filled with the plane. Zoom out while trying to keep the frame filled 2/3's or higher, as the plane approaches you. I wasted a lot of CF card space by shooting too early or too late. The shots "looked" cool in the VF, but not so cool at home on the monitor....
When shooting the hotrod fighter jets, seems like they'll usually do at least 1 or 2 power climbs, at the end of their runs. So, I think you want to be at that end of the runway, if you want to try to catch some shots of the afterburners and stuff.
If I've confused you or you have need to clarify something I've said, please ask for clarification.
I have followed and enjoyed you work here for several years.
Wow. Thanks for the very kind words, Matt!
--
my gallery of so-so photos
http://www.pbase.com/kerrypierce/root 
