I recently journeyed to Southern California for a return visit to the Wings Over Camarillo Airshow. Sponsored by California Aeronautical University, 2019 marked the 39th year for this event, which means they have figured out how to do it right and keep folks coming back.
I like the ambience of these smaller airshows. Without the overwhelming presence of a big headline performance team, local talent gets their day in the sun. Very few barriers were employed here, allowing airshow fans to get up close to the dozens of aircraft on display.
I knew something would be different this year after spotting crews with T-shirts proclaiming “An airshow without pyro is just another fly-in.” There would be three separate pyrotechnic events during the show each day, undoubtedly alarming the drivers on nearby Highway 101.
The USAF Academy Wings of Blue parachute team delivered the Stars and Stripes, jumping from “D-Day Doll,” a veteran C-53 Skytrooper operated by the Commemorative Air Force.
Helicopters were next, starting with a fly-by by a pair of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s newest firefighting assets. Five of these Augusta Westland AW139s replaced an aging Bell 412 fleet. The Ventura County Sheriff brought one of its Hueys for a water drop demonstration, followed by the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation with its distinctive Bell AH-1F Cobra gunship.
The Los Angeles Fire Department brought one of its new Leonardo/ AgustaWestland AW139 with a 420 gallon Simplex tank underneath. The AW139 replaced the previous fleet of Bell 412 helicopters. 
This Bell AH-1F Cobra served proudly for 32 years before retirement and transfer to the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation where it was restored back to flight status. 
The Ventura County Sheriff conducts a water drop demonstration with its 1969 Bell 205A.
There were only four aerobatic performers in the lineup.
First to fly was local aerobatic pilot Judy Phelps in her Pitts Special.
Fellow Pitts pilot Sammy Mason followed later on. Sammy’s performance was quite memorable thanks to a pyro fireball that created a massive rolling ring of smoke which Sammy proceeded to zoom through, execute a hammerhead, and come back down before the ring disspated.
Sammy Mason takes his Pitts S1S vertical through a smoke ring created from a pyro explosion. 
Sonny Mason waves to the fans after his performance. He bought this Pitts S-1S when he was 18 years old and restored it to airshow performance standards.
Wrapping up the lineup was John Collver in his SNJ Texan “War Dog” and Vicky Benzing in a classic 1940 Stearman.
The flying schedule was dominated by fly-bys, formations of the same type or era.
The first group taking flight were light aircraft, represented by a Piper Cub, Viking Dragonfly, and a rare Champion 402 training aircraft.
World War II trainers were up next with a Fairchild PT-19 Cornell, Ryan PT-22 and PT-20, Fairchild 24R Argus, and a brightly attired Royal Air Force de Havilland Chipmunk.
Formation flyovers of a quartet of Beechcraft T-34 Mentors took place, their colorful liveries memorializing their service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force.
The largest formations were provided by the recently formed Lightning Formation Airshows Team, sponsored by Lightspeed, with its eight Van’s RV aircraft.
The last formation team to fly was the Condor Squadron, a group of T-6 pilots that perform aerial tributes to veterans.
Camarillo Airport is also the home of the Southern California chapter of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), so there was no shortage of warbirds in the sky.
The European Theater of Operations was represented by fly-bys of a B-25 Mitchell, P-51 Mustang, a rare Bell P-63 KingCobra, P-47 Thunderbolt, and P-38 Lightning.
The Bell P-63 Kingcobra, with the engine behind the pilot and “car door”, was never used in combat by the U.S. 2,000 were sent to Russia.
The corresponding Pacific tribute had Grumman’s F6F Hellcat, F8F Bearcat, F4U Corsair, P-51 Mustang, a rare PBJ-1 Mitchell, and an even–rarer Mitsubishi Zero. The completion of the Pacific warbird segment was marked thunderously with the much-anticipated Wall of Fire.
Bomber fans enjoyed the sight of the two B-25 Mitchells. Both are based at Camarillo. One, “Executive Sweet,” has been an airshow staple for 37 years, while the second aircraft is actually a U.S. Navy version designated PBJ-1 that returned to airworthiness in 2016 after 23 years of restoration. Executive Sweet’s demonstration was punctuated by one of the day’s pyrotechnics during a simulated bomb run.
The only jet noise of the day would be provided by Jason Somes and his scarlet MiG-17F (actually a Polish-built variant). Jason recently acquired this former Red Bull performer and enjoyed demonstrating the capabilities of this Cold War fighter jet.
This MiG-17F was built in 1959 and served in the Polish Air Force for 25 years before it was parked in a Polish “boneyard” and acquired in 1994 by Bill Reesman.
One item of interest in the show schedule were flybys of general aviation kitplanes. This included a super-sleek Lancair Propjet, futuristic Velocity V-Twin, a cool F1 Rocket, and a flag-wearing Lancair 360.
The Propjet is a turboprop update of the Lancair IV that was introduced in 2000. 
A very patriotic Lancair 360 kit plane taxies out for a flight demonstration. 
The sleek Velocity V-Twin homebuilt was first flown in 2012. Only six are registered in the U.S.
Military aircraft on static display included a C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft dominating the ramp, and a pair of F/A-18E Super Hornets. Military helicopters were represented with a Marine AH-1 Super Cobra gunship, and a Marine UH-1 Venom on display.
The airshow was hosted by the Camarillo Wings Association, an all-volunteer non-profit corporation, in collaboration with the Commemorative Air Force Southern California Wing, Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 723, and Ventura County Ninety-Nines and Department of Airports. The event benefits local non-profits involved in youth science and aviation programs.
More photos from the airshow
This polished beauty is the Yanks Air Museum’s 1939 Lockheed 12A Electra Junior on final approach to Camarillo Airport for a weekend of static display. 
With 560 aircraft, the Civil Air Patrol operates one of the largest fleets of single-engine piston aircraft in the world, many of them Cessna 182T Skylanes like this one. 
A tired but toothy 1946 North American Navion at the entrance to the airshow STEM Pavilion. 
A 1944 Beech D17S Staggerwing arrives to attend the show. 
The Ryan PT-22 was the United States Army Air Corps’ first purpose built monoplane training aircraft. 
Ryan siblings on the ramp at Wings Over Camarillo. A polished 1941 Ryan PT-22 Recruit alongside a white PT-20. 
A rare 1963 Champion 402 Lancer twin-engine, tandem-seat training aircraft makes a photo pass. Of the roughly 25 sold, only nine are still registered. 
The Fairchild 24R-46 Argus was a successful civil and military utility aircraft with over 2,200 produced. This aircraft was priced at $8,875 back in 1946. 
The Commemorative Air Force Fairchild PT-19A Cornell makes a fly-by. This aircraft was a mainstay of pilot training programs in the U.S. and Canada during the war. 
The Viking DragonFly Mark III kitplane is a two-seater variant of the Rutan Quickie. 
Introduced in 1946, the de Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk was a popular postwar primary training aircraft in the UK and Canada. This particular aircraft logged over 33,000 landings while in RAF service. 
This de Havilland Canada UV-18B Twin Otter is the jump aircraft for the USAF Academy Wings Of Blue parachute team. 
This unique Mitchell is the result of a 23-year restoration. The PBJ-1J Mitchells were operated almost exclusively by the Marine Corps as land-based bombers during WWII. 
This is a Czech-designed F1 Rocket now produced under license by Frazier Aviation in Indiana.
Pyrotechnics showcase the reality of warbirds so you are so correct when you state “An airshow without pyro is just another fly-in.”
PS Addendum to my comments above. I was already a Private Pilot myself and kept my little T-craft at Ojay. I used to play around on a little, steep mountain meadow a few miles up the coastline. I took a great deal of pleasure taking our jet fighter pilots up there. I think most of them dirtied their pants when I pulled up very steeply to touch down on the uphill side of that meadow. Took almost full power to taxi up to the top. We did have fun then. Great memories of the area.
Interesting show and location. Camarillo Airport used to be Oxnard AFB, and I was a Jet Fighter Crew Chief there in the late ’60s. I actually launched the very last F-106 to leave the base when it was closed, and left the Air Force myself three days later. I had a lot of fun on this base as a Crew Chief. That was back in the days when Crew Chiefs were expected to fly fairly often. I hold one record at OAFB, I think. Well, two, actually, but on one trip in one of the earlier F-101’s, I was flying rear seat in a mission that was to be supersonic, and only meant to last 17 minutes total. On takeoff, we normally used afterburners only until the gear and flaps were up, then came out for the climbout. On this trip, with a bunch of fuel onboard and a short flight, the pilot ‘cleaned up” and started to come out of AB, then said, “Ah, the heck with it!” He stayed in AB and pulled instead. When we cleared the end of the 9,000′ runway, we had 18,000′ of altitude. THAT’S The Way Planes Are Supposed To Climb!!!
The other one was in a T-33 on a Radar Verification Mission. We had to fly at 42,000’ very precisely for a very long time. The pilot finally told Radar that we had to return, we were getting low on fuel. I had flown the entire mission on the controls–it was a boring flight, over four hours, that the pilot just sat back and watched. I was still in control. They allowed us to turn, but wanted to keep the verification going til the last second, so kept us at altitude. He told me, “We are already at bingo fuel. When they release us, I Want To Go DOWN!” I Said, “yessir.” They released us right over the center of the runway and cleared us for an unlimited descent. I brought the engine back to flight idle, popped the speed brakes, rolled us inverted, and pulled. We dove exactly vertical at the center of the runway for 47 seconds! I started the pullout at 10,000, entered downwind at about 2.500, dropped the gear and flaps. He took over only at flare. Afterwards, when we got out on the tiedown ramp, he turned to me and said, “You know how to take orders, don’t you?” I grinned and said, “Yessir!” I think I personally hold the AF record for the longest sustained vertical dive. PS Indicated AS never got over 220. At idle power with the brakes out, and us being very light, that was terminal velocity.
Awesome job by Hayman Tam both the story and photos are striking and colorful. This fly-in has obviously grown from a few U.S. military aircraft to a great representation of GA, CAF aircraft and local performers. What a treat for the young aspiring aviators of the future. Thanks for sharing them.
“An airshow without pyro is just another fly-in.” is extremely objectionable. Pyro simulates bombing and burning of someone. The next time you watch an airshow with pyrotechnics visualize your wife, children, grandchildren or parents being burned up. Keep it personal. Remember the infamous picture of Phan Thị Kim Phúcin in Viet Nam burned up by Napalm
Simulate what the planes can do, but burning up humans does not need to be simulated.
Bombing and burning in war is bad enough and sometimes necessary, but does not need to be simulated for the WOW factor at a fun event.
Killer article Hayman. A lot of good detail on the planes and their place in history. Sounds like a great show. Sorry I missed it. Great photographs too!