Warbirds West

There’s history in the air as the Planes of Fame museum put up a trio of World War II warbirds. The blue F4U Corsair and twin-engine P-38 are joined by the P-51D Mustang nicknamed Spam Can. This Mustang is a flying tribute to Planes of Fame founder Ed Maloney, who bought this Mustang at auction in 1957. (Photo by Frederick A. Johnsen)

The Planes of Fame Central Coast Airfest indulges those who appreciate heavy metal warbirds of World War II, the Korean War, and the Cold War.

The show is an innovative effort by the oldest warbird museum collection, Planes of Fame, to leverage its crowd-pleasing warbirds at a venue that will host the museum’s new facility at Santa Maria Airport (KSMX) in California.

At one point, the museum counted 11 P-51 Mustang fighters in attendance this year from around the western United States.

The Jack Aces Mustang demonstration team showed the interplay of shadows and reflected highlights. (Photo by Frederick A. Johnsen)

Show-stoppers were sights like a tight three-ship formation of scarce P-47 Thunderbolts, the presence of two flying P-38 Lightnings, and three Curtiss P-40s.

One P-47 Thunderbolt is rare today. Three in a tight formation is spectacular, and a reason why the Planes of Fame air show has earned a reputation for delivering images and experiences audiences don’t find at other venues. (Photo by Frederick A. Johnsen)

A brace of single-engine TBM Avenger bombers, their torpedo bay doors open as if on an attack run, rumbled past the crowd as the Wright R-2600 radial engines provided a soundtrack in the sky.

Two for torpedoes: A pair of triple-tone camouflaged World War II TBM Avenger torpedo bombers came to Santa Maria for the October warbird air show. (Photo by Frederick A. Johnsen)

Public attendance days were Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 18-19, 2025.

The concrete ramp provided space for folding chairs, allowing a relaxed view of flying events quickly sequenced one after another. Only the occasional airliner arrival caused a momentary lull in the action. (Photo by Frederick A. Johnsen)

On Friday evening at sunset, a special show was flown for VIPs, featuring the serpentine smoke trails of Sanders Aeronautics’ Hawker Sea Fury and the fire-breathing afterburner passes of Jason Somes in his red-and-black MiG-17 jet.

The Sanders Aeronautics Hawker Sea Fury flew hypnotic demonstrations with the company’s smoke generators tracing the gyrating airflow behind the rebuilt fighter. (Photo by Barry Martin)

The red-and-black MiG-17 jet fighter flown by Jason Somes passes in front of the P-47 Thunderbolt nicknamed Dottie Mae. Crowds enjoy when Jason lights up the afterburner during his performance. (Photo by Barry Martin)

Government funding shutdown issues meant the Air Force’s F-35 jet demonstration was absent from the show, but the vintage civilian-owned warbirds proved more than sufficient in keeping action overhead.

The Jack Aces team brought three P-51 Mustang fighters to the show, flying smooth and powerful formation aerobatics. (Photo by Frederick A. Johnsen)

And a special treat for Sunday show visitors was the 12:24 p.m. launch, from nearby Vandenberg Space Force Base, of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites aloft. The rocket’s tall white column and brilliant flame exhaust plume were visible to air show attendees moments after liftoff.

Those at the Central Coast AirFest got to see the Falcon 9 take off. (Photo by Frederick A. Johnsen)

Aircraft owners and pilots from around the west brought their machines to the show to support the Planes of Fame effort.

Sunday morning fog that kept warbirds on the ground lent a quiet majesty to this row of P-51 Mustangs receding into the mist. It soon burned off and yielded a full day of flying. (Photo by Frederick A. Johnsen)

Unlimited air race fans were treated to a special high-speed pass by Steven Hinton in the P-51 racer Bardahl Special, and on Saturday Vicky Benzing flew her purple P-51 racer number 64, the Mustang campaigned for years by Clay Lacy.

A scarce Fairey Firefly nears landing at Santa Maria while Vicky Benzing awaits her takeoff slot in the purple P-51 formerly raced by Clay Lacy. (Photo by Frederick A. Johnsen)

The Planes of Fame pedigree includes families like the Hintons and Maloneys who have honed their skills on warbirds for decades. Warbird fans have another name to add to the list of accomplished demonstration pilots: Bernie Vasquez.

It’s showtime for Bernie Vasquez, holding his modern hard shell flying helmet that is cleverly wrapped in brown leather to look more like wartime leather headgear than a brilliant white flying helmet. Vasquez is seated in the P-47 Thunderbolt nicknamed Snafu. (Photo by Frederick A. Johnsen)

Vasquez flew powerful and graceful aerobatic demonstrations at Santa Maria in a P-40N. And then his signature aerial dance with a Thunderbolt featured the P-47G nicknamed Snafu, owned by warbird collector Charles Somers of Sacramento.

Masters of their machines, Bernie Vasquez brings the P-47 Thunderbolt in to land while Jason Somes holds his MiG-17 jet fighter short of the runway. (Photo by Frederick A. Johnsen)

Vasquez gained a large audience with his smooth demonstrations of a P-47 and P-51C at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 2023, followed by performances at the National Championship Air Races in Reno that September. Now, the promise of a warbird demonstration flight by Bernie Vasquez at an air show is a signal of excellence to the audience.

Selfies in the sunset as the MiG-17 approaches while a B-25 crew member holds a cell phone aloft during the Friday evening event for VIPs. (Photo by Barry Martin)

The Planes of Fame Central Coast Airfest puts a great cherry on top of the 2025 air show season. Simultaneously laid back and action-packed, this warbird-focused event was well worth the trip.

For more information: CentralCoastAirfest.com