The sounds of high performance jet aircraft are commonplace in the high desert of California, home of Edwards Air Force Base and the civilian activities at nearby Mojave.

With the cancellation of the popular Edwards AFB Open House events however, local airshow fans were left wanting.

After several years of concerted effort, and the lead sponsorship of Lockheed Martin, the Los Angeles County Airshow was born. Now in its fourth year, tens of thousands of folks flocked to the city of Lancaster to attend the March event held at General William J. Fox Airfield (Fox Field). [Read more…]

Travis Air Force Base in Northern California last hosted an air show in 2014. The show came to an abrupt halt after a fatal plane crash claimed a favorite local performer. Edward “Eddie” Andreini survived the impact, but perished in the post-crash fire that engulfed his Super Stearman biplane.

Fast forward three years and, with improved crash response in place, the Wings Over Solano air show was ready to return for more than 100,000 airshow fans. [Read more…]

The Northern California Bay Area is centrally located for a wide assortment of events during airshow season. An hour due north of San Francisco is Santa Rosa, located in the heart of wine country and probably best known as the home of Charles Schulz and his beloved Peanuts characters.

But for one weekend in late summer, it becomes a beacon for airshow fans to gather around. [Read more…]

Hollister is a quiet little agricultural town in Northern California that is probably best known for motorcycle rallies — being the inspiration for the 1953 Brando film “The Wild One.”

Hollister is also getting known for its fly-in, one of the few in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. This year marked the seventh year for this event. [Read more…]

After an extended rainy season, thanks to El Nino, airshow fans in the San Francisco Bay area were eager for the show season to begin.

One event that many, including myself, consider to be the “season opener” is the Pacific Coast Dream Machines Show. Thousands of folks tie up traffic on the scenic coastal highway all day to attend the show held at Eddie Andreini Sr. Airfield (formerly known as Half Moon Bay Airport) every April.

This is not really an airshow. It’s more of a celebration of all things wheeled, winged, tracked, and in between.

Imagine a fly-in, blended with a custom car show, plus a dash of carnival atmosphere for the younger ones. [Read more…]

A hot, humid, partly cloudy day in paradise awaited the thousands of Hawaii airshow fans who came out for the Sunday showing of the Kaneohe Bay Airshow held at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, on the island of Oahu.

Held Oct. 17-18, total attendance topped 100,000. One reason for the crowds was the appearance of the Blue Angels, who last appeared over the island in 2012. This was only their sixth appearance in Hawaii in the last 33 years.

On average, there is only one airshow in Hawaii each year, so there is excitement when an opportunity comes along to see one. [Read more…]