Tahoe Truckee Air Show & Family Festival turns 10

The Commemorative Air Force’s North American PBJ-1J Mitchell and Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero come back for another formation pass.

A California air show I always look forward to attending is the Truckee Tahoe Air Show & Family Festival, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2023.

This is a smaller scale air show with a great small town feel to it, plus a picturesque backdrop of forested mountains surrounding the airport.

Admission and parking continue to be free, courtesy of the Truckee Tahoe Airport District. It’s only a short stroll from the car to the show.

This year’s air show had several aerobatic performances, including California native Vicky Benzing, flying her 1940 Boeing Stearman, Coloradan Bob Freeman taking to the sky in his Extra 330SC, a converted Red Bull Racer aircraft, and former F-15 pilot Tom Larkin performing in his Subsonex jet.

Vicky Benzing brings her 1940 Boeing Stearman around back to show center. Vicky has owned this aircraft since 1998 and says it is her favorite to perform in.

Against a backdrop containing traces of snow, Bob Freeman, brings his Extra EA-300 to show center for another pass.

Former F-15 pilot Tom Larkin performs in the Subsonex jet, inspired by watching BD-5J performances as a child.

The Undaunted Airshows Formation Team rounded out the slate of performers. This is a dissimilar aerobatics team with Todd Rudberg and Stephen Christopher flying their RV-7 and RV-8 doing formation maneuvers.

Todd Rudberg, in the orange RV-8, and team lead Stephen Christopher, in the red RV-7, are the Undaunted Airshows team.

Todd Rudberg, and team lead Stephen Christopher, formed the Undaunted Airshows team during the pandemic. The name “Undaunted” was the result of an unfortunate encounter with an elk that destroyed his aircraft upon landing.

A Mitchell bomber and Zero fighter from the Commemorative Air Force performed a World War II mission reenactment, while a fly-by of two black T-38 Talons marked the end of the lunch break.

A duet of distinctive T-38 Talons of the 99th Reconnaissance Sqn that made an appearance in the skies over Truckee. These T-38s here are used for the U-2 pilots to maintain their flying status.

Something not seen often at air shows were glider demonstrations, including the tow to altitude by a Piper Pawnee.

A Piper PA-25 Pawnee was the tow plane for two glider performances by this Schweizer SGS during the 2023 Truckee Tahoe Airshow.

On the static display line, fans clustered around the military aircraft that flew in for the show.

Fast mover fans appreciated the Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler jets from VX-9 based at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake.

One of two Mississippi-based Boeing T-45C Goshawks on display. First flown in 1988, this is a carrier-capable trainer aircraft.

A pair of T-45 Goshawk jet trainers also flew in for the show, joining a P-3 Orion that rounded out the sizable US Navy representation.

Not to be shut out completely, the US Air Force was represented by a lone T-6 Texan II that flew out from Vance AFB in Oklahoma.

There also was a lot of civilian aircraft on static display. The local Cirrus dealer, Mountain Lion Aviation, had folks peering and prodding the newest models. Folks could also peek inside a Pilatus PC-12NG and Piper Meridian M600 SLS that were opened up.

A Piper Meridian M600 SLS displayed at the 2023 Truckee Tahoe Airshow. The HALO Safety System can take over the controls and autoland at the nearest suitable airport if needed.

Noteworthy was a very cool Turbo Beaver floatplane and a Tri-Pacer in the colors of the French Marine Corps.

This 1964 De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Turbo Beaver looks great as a floatplane.

This Piper Tri-Pacer is a tribute to the ones used in combat by the French Marine Corps in support of the Foreign Legion in the 1950s and 1960s.

First responder aircraft on display included helicopters from the California Highway Patrol and Placer County Sheriff. Cal Fire brought a S-2 Turbo Tracker fire bomber, OV-10 Bronco spotter aircraft, and one of its new Firehawk helicopters.

This is one of 12 new Sikorsky Firehawks that Cal Fire has ordered to replace its fleet of firefighting Hueys.

One interesting activity was the opportunity for kids was the chance to paint on a Cessna 182. The SafeLaunch program welcomes kids to paint their Cessna 182, while educating them about making the right choices regarding alcohol or drugs.

Nabi Hemmatyar is a proud crew member of this rare North American PBJ-1J Mitchell. The PBJ-1J Mitchells were operated almost exclusively by the Marine Corps as land-based bombers during WWII.

This was a very pleasant air show to attend — it wasn’t super crowded, had lots of good food and drink at reasonable prices, and was full of friendly fellow air show fans.