jester292 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I've only been to the local Battle Creek and Muskegon airshows (Muskegon is no more). They're good, but lack a lot of the modern jet noise that I crave every summer. Where can I go to see a good variety of modern military fighters perform? Opinions are welcome as long as we play nicely. Thanks! Aaron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigasshammm Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 With cutbacks there may not be many left that have multiple "performing" modern jets. You'll probably get a good mix at a big air base but those are mostly flybys. Willow runs air show is good every year. I'm sure Nellis puts on a good show. There's one in NY NJ that fly over the river that looks pretty sweet. Also in FL the beach air show would be awesome. There's plenty but you'd have to travel a lot. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jester292 Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 With cutbacks there may not be many left that have multiple "performing" modern jets. You'll probably get a good mix at a big air base but those are mostly flybys. Willow runs air show is good every year. I'm sure Nellis puts on a good show. There's one in NY NJ that fly over the river that looks pretty sweet. Also in FL the beach air show would be awesome. There's plenty but you'd have to travel a lot. Travel isn't an obstacle. Neither is time of year or budget. However, I do need to plan in advance, which is why I ask now. I'm assuming Nellis is going to be my "loudest" option. As long as its not the same weekend as Thunder Over Michigan, I can make both of those shows. Aaron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ken Cartwright Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I haven't been to any shows on the East Coast, so I can't say if the ones I've been to are the best, but last year, Nellis was about the best I saw in the southwest because budget cuts reduced performances in many of the others in that area. Miramar was also pretty good. One place to look is http://www.fencecheck.com - it's a site dedicated to air craft photography, and a big part of that is air shows. They have a whole forum dedicated to upcoming shows, and completed shows. You might look at the photos from the previous years' shows to get a feel for what they're like. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TaiidanTomcat Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 (edited) MCAS Yuma AZ. All the toys from Miramar along with Yuma Harriers (2013 will have F-35s) AZ F-16s, and German Tornados from new mexico. Also had a twin B-1B pass, and a B-52 show up along with all the old war birds. I think its the best bunch of aircraft for the smallest crowd ratios there is, and everytime I have gone -3 times- its been terrifyingly well organized took ten minutes to get in, and ten minutes to leave base. Conversly El Centro was a disaster. avoid it if you can. Enjoyed Miramar a bunch as well. Edited August 10, 2012 by TaiidanTomcat Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spongebob Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 (edited) For military support -- Andrews (DC), Mirimar (San Diego), Oceana (Virginia Beach), Nellis, and if Edwards is having one, that is normally a great show. Edwards doesn't roll every year though. That said...OSHKOSH!!! Best airshow in the US, hands down. The US, Canadian and sometime other militaries usually have a good presence there, but it's the overall, week long orgy of aviation that wins it. Did I mention week long? For info: Oshkosh Air Venture Spongebob Edited August 10, 2012 by Spongebob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jester292 Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 Oshkosh is on the radar. I never think of that as a military display though. I always think of EAA and small little prop jobbies buzzing around showing off what they built in their garage. Prove me wrong please! Aaron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne S Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 (edited) Oshkosh is on the radar. I never think of that as a military display though. I always think of EAA and small little prop jobbies buzzing around showing off what they built in their garage. Prove me wrong please! Aaron Oshkosh I would say should be on every aviation nuts Bucket list. Edited August 10, 2012 by Wayne S Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spongebob Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I never think of that as a military display though. I always think of EAA and small little prop jobbies buzzing around showing off what they built in their garage. Prove me wrong please! The link lists who was there this year (look under "attractions")...once the show schedules publish for 2013 (usually early November) you'll know more. Some years they get one of the US teams and/or the snowbirds. With the looming budget shenanigans for 2013 though, there's a serious possibility of NOTHING military wise for next year. Spongebob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne S Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 (edited) Edited August 10, 2012 by Wayne S Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott R Wilson Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 The link lists who was there this year (look under "attractions")...once the show schedules publish for 2013 (usually early November) you'll know more. Some years they get one of the US teams and/or the snowbirds. With the looming budget shenanigans for 2013 though, there's a serious possibility of NOTHING military wise for next year. Spongebob I have to correct you here about Oshkosh. I've lived in Appleton, Wisconsin since 1991, just north of Oshkosh, so I've been to EAA Airventure every year from 1991 on. In all that time they've never had a jet team. I've asked about it and they say the aerobatic box (maneuvering area) is too small for the teams since the city is built up too close to the airport. So they'll never have the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds perfom there. I don't know if the Snowbirds have the same restrictions but they've not performed at OSH since 1991. They have had some solo jet aerobatics there though. The F-22 put on an abbreviated version of their display in recent years. "Max" Moga was the demo pilot and told us at a forum there that he had to cut out one or two maneuvers that he normally performs that didn't fit in Oshkosh's aerobatic box. But it was still a heck of a performance. Years ago in the 1990s just before he retired from the Navy, "Snort" Snodgrass did a great demo in the F-14. This year they had an F-18C do a tactical demo that was pretty good, and the A-10 did the Heritage Flight with a P-38 (Glacier Girl). The C-17 has flown its demo several times over the years, always worth watching. But the Oshkosh Airventure show really isn't focused on jets. The show mostly consists of aerobatics in planes like Pitts, Extras, Edges and the like, plus plenty of warbirds. They do have a lot of military jets fly in for static displays and watching their arrivals and departures can be pretty exciting as the pilots show off a bit when they can. Typically the military static displays can be divided into two; there will be a group of jets on display for the first half of the week, then most will leave mid-week and another group will arrive for the second half. Scott Wilson Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jester292 Posted August 13, 2012 Author Share Posted August 13, 2012 Thanks for the replies, everyone. Those are some awesome videos. Scott, thanks for the review! I'm going to look further into cost and other details. Taiidan, what is MCAS? It sounds great! Cheers, Aaron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TaiidanTomcat Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Thanks for the replies, everyone. Those are some awesome videos. Scott, thanks for the review! I'm going to look further into cost and other details. Taiidan, what is MCAS? It sounds great! Cheers, Aaron Marine Corps Air Station. Yuma probably won't have a big name Demo like the Blue Angels or Snow Bird and the morning is usually prop jobs, other than that its a great show! Single aircraft demos are pretty awesome to me though so I don't complain. I saw the Blues in El Centro and the crowd didn't even bother to stay through the whole demo. They knew something I didn't because when it was over and we started to leave a three hour traffic jam followed before we even got off base. took us an hour to get out of our parking lot onto a base road. Eventually they let us through a side gate-- onto some farmland. I kept heading west until I hit a hard top road. The Sailors directing traffic seemed really interested in their cell phones. That was when I vowed Yuma, Miramar, or bust. We have a local show here at Kirtland AFB that has some pretty darn snazzy stuff and a B-2 flew over my house, but I didn't go to the show. they only recently started doing them again after a very long hiatus (over a decade I believe) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Fey Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 In Nevada, you have Aviation Nation in Las Vegas. In Reno, I highly suggest the National Championship Air Races aka the Reno Air Races. Some great displays and some downright amazing flying. It's held every September, which is a beautiful time of year in the high desert/Sierras. In Aug/September, Reno has some great events as well--BBQ festivals, Hot August Nights, Balloon Races. Before I moved from there, they were still planning on having the races after the tragedy there last year. HTH Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 (edited) Nellis AFB "Aviation Nation", November 10-11, is your best bet to smell burning kerosene for these reasons: 1) With military cutbacks, you don't need to worry about seeing the F-22, F-15, F-16, Thunderbirds, etc. because they live there already. They may just do fly-bys, etc., but at least you'll see them fly, often at high speed. 2) Since this is the home of Red Flag, there are always LOTS of Aggressors and foreign jets parked around the base. 2 years ago they had 4 Eurofighter Typhoons in the static display area. 3) Many other acts often show up, like European F-16's, Canada's F-18A, F-4E, B-1 and B-52 bombers, etc., and there's always a Navy or Marine F-18 of some kind. 4) There's always lots of WW-II war birds as well, if you're into that. As a result, the very popular "Heritage Flight" happens every year too. 5) All spectators are fully screened at the local NASCAR track then bused in to the base. Although this is a huge PITA and may take over an hour, once you get to the AB you can walk up to and touch just about every jet and other aircraft. As a modeler looking for reference photo's, this is a fantastic opportunity. Nellis is just a 20 minutes drive on the highway north of Vegas. Since you need to travel and stay somewhere, Vegas is a lot more fun than 95% of the other air show stops! I've been to Aviation Nation about 6 times and I may go again this year. I often go both Saturday and Sunday, because it's free and I can never get enough of a high speed pass at full afterburner. With the economic downturn, hotel rooms are at historically very low prices and rental cars have always been very cheap. Go to Nellis, you won't be sorry! Edited August 13, 2012 by chuck540z3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hawkeye's Hobbies Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Here are a few of my AirVenture 2012 images. http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t320/hawkeyes_bucket/AV2012/ AirVenture is primary a convention for homebuilt, kitplanes, general aviation and every related vendor hoping to sell their wares to those buying, building and restoring aircraft. The public draw isn't so much these aircraft but those performing or part of the flying displays...aerobatics, Warbirds and military. This year we were treated to the Navy's Tac Demo Team performing in their F-18Cs! Also understand that this is a seven day show. No two days are exactly the same. In fact, I think of it as a 10 day show if you are on the grounds watching the early and late arrivals and departures. The best time to get images is after the daily airshow, catching departing aircraft that are leaving. The lighting is perfect! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 MCAS El Toro use to be the best ... -Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sig Saur & Son Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Oshkosh, AKA Air Venture, without a doubt, this venue is Woodstock For Wingnuts. One whole week of air shows. http://www.airfighters.com/photoalbums.php?albumid=585&sor=21 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fool on the hill Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I have to put in a vote for the show at Patuxent River NAS. Being the site of the Naval Air Test Center there is stuff you just don't see anywhere else. Check out Airliners or another photo site, search out the shots from Pax River in Maryland, you'll see what I mean. The static displays in the yard at their museum are incredible as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Devilleader501 Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 (edited) Marine Corps Air Station. Yuma probably won't have a big name Demo like the Blue Angels or Snow Bird and the morning is usually prop jobs, other than that its a great show! Single aircraft demos are pretty awesome to me though so I don't complain. I saw the Blues in El Centro and the crowd didn't even bother to stay through the whole demo. They knew something I didn't because when it was over and we started to leave a three hour traffic jam followed before we even got off base. took us an hour to get out of our parking lot onto a base road. Eventually they let us through a side gate-- onto some farmland. I kept heading west until I hit a hard top road. The Sailors directing traffic seemed really interested in their cell phones. That was when I vowed Yuma, Miramar, or bust. We have a local show here at Kirtland AFB that has some pretty darn snazzy stuff and a B-2 flew over my house, but I didn't go to the show. they only recently started doing them again after a very long hiatus (over a decade I believe) ^ What he says. I live in Yuma and also work at MCAS Yuma. The shows here are pretty good. I'm not sure how traffic will be though due to construction of the new hangars. 2 of them will be finished but 2 more of them are scheduled to be started in October 2012. As far as the F-35 is concerned I would almost bet money that one of those will not be at the airshow. If you are going to come out this way you should plan on a week long trip and stay a few days after the airshow. Reason why I say is because thats when all of the aircraft start to show up for WTI. We will have Prowlers MV-22's CH-53E's and all of our skids here during the airshow but we will not yet have the F-18's the Mi-24 Hind or the AH-6J Little Bird. We may have the KC-130's here as well. If you want a really good show come here around May 2013. WTI will be in full swing and you will be able to go to our local parks and watch MAGTF exercises. WTI exercises are almost always missed by Plane watchers because no one knows about them. They run for a little over a month and a half and those guys fly their A@@E@ off. We will have over 100 transit aircraft here including all of our home squadrons as well. Here is a good chance to see all of our famed 311 Tomcats, 211 Wake Island Avengers, 214 Black Sheep, 513 Nightmares and our beloved VMFT-401 Snipers. If you had the money and the time off I would say you should spend about 2 weeks here during that time you will not regret it. Hope this helps. JOSH Oh 1 more thing. This year we hosted the Blue Angels for this first time in roughly 20 years. They may or not be back again next year. Plus we have things like this. Edited August 18, 2012 by Devilleader501 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.