LiveAirshowTV continues a busy “virtual” airshow 2020 season with a one-day, four-hour live broadcast of the Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana Air Show Sept. 19, 2020, from noon to 4 p.m. Eastern time.
The broadcast will feature live flight demonstrations by a variety of military aircraft, including a performance of the NAS Oceana-based “Rhino” Demonstration Team that flies the F/A-18F Super Hornet. Also flying will be the Air Force’s F-22 Raptor and A-10 Thunderbolt, as well as world renowned aerobatic pilots Michael Goulian and Scott Francis.
The broadcast will be hosted by airshow announcer Rob Reider and Emmy-award winning TV personality Steph Stricklen on a live set where they will also interview air show pilots, as well as ambassadors for NAS Oceana and Naval Aviation.
The broadcast also will feature numerous vignettes about life on NAS Oceana and in the Navy, according to LiveAirShowTV’s Jeff Lee.
Also featured will be live, in-cockpit cameras provided by OnBoard Images, made possible by a sponsorship by Air Force Recruiting Command. Live cameras will broadcast from the A-10, the F-18, and several other performing aircraft.
Live attendance to the air show was canceled on July 13 to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. The event has been held nearly every year since 1962 and typically attracts more than 250,000 spectators, making physical distancing impractical.
Event leaders and Navy Public Affairs, however, decided to move ahead with a broadcast of the event to take the stories of NAS Oceana and the Navy to a global audience.
“Moving the air show to a live-streamed event allows us to keep everyone healthy, while still showcasing what the Navy and Marine Corps team is capable of doing when we deploy around the world to defend America’s interests,” said Capt. John W. Hewitt, Commanding Officer of NAS Oceana, which is in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The four-hour show can be viewed online at https://www.facebook.com/events/1849904701816801/ and https://tinyurl.com/NAS-OceanaAirShow2020-YouTube3. Updates to the show’s schedule will be posted on NAS Oceana’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/navalairstationoceana.
“The best way to view the air show is on your phone, tablet, or computer,” Hewitt said. “We need to make sure emergency services personnel can get wherever they may need to go and that nobody is spreading the virus outside of our gates trying to get a better view of the show. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back to NAS Oceana when it is safe to do so, but you can help us speed up that process by watching from the comfort of your home.”