No terrible twos for this young airshow as the Central Coast Airfest at Santa Maria Municipal Airport (KSMX) in California marked its sophomore year.

In fact there were some big shoes to fill after the inaugural 2018 Central Coast Airfest was recognized by the International Council of Air Shows with a Pinnacle Platinum Award for “Best Small Civilian Air Show.” And fill those shoes they did, winning the award again in 2019.

Covering the show again this year, I was interested to see what changes may have been implemented. One new element was a plane pull to benefit Special Olympics of Northern Santa Barbara County. The plane pull brought participants together to see which team could pull a Russian MiG-21 fighter jet 12′ in the shortest time. The plane pull raised nearly $13,000 for the organization.

Sacramento may be the seat of power in California, but for one weekend it is also the seat of aerial power when the California Capital Airshow takes place. 

The 14^th year of this popular event drew a record weekend turnout of more than 120,000 airshow fans to Mather Airport (KMHR) in October 2019.

I recently journeyed to Southern California for a return visit to the Wings Over Camarillo Airshow. Sponsored by California Aeronautical University, 2019 marked the 39^th 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. 

My search for a July airshow found me in Grass Valley, high in California’s Gold Country. Located at the Nevada County Air Park (KGOO), the Grass Valley Airshow is a very friendly and intimate event with a nice local feel. With the tree-lined runway a scant 50 yards from the crowd line, there wasn’t a bad seat to be had by anyone. 

Marketed as an airshow, there were no performances per se, just a series of fly-bys, both solo and formation.

Pilots had a fair amount of latitude in what they could do, resulting in multiple photo passes by some and disappointing single passes by others. Low and slow, low and fast, smoke on or off, you get the general idea.

For several years now, the Hiller Aviation Museum has a summer event called the Kid’s Air Faire. Timed in conjunction with its aviation summer camp programs, it is a great way to ignite the aviation spark in the next generation of young people. 

Several aircraft showed up for the festivities at San Carlos Airport (KSQL) in California.

A popular aviation event in the San Francisco Bay area is the Pacific Coast Dream Machines Show. This is not really an airshow, 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. 

It hasn’t even been six months since the last airshow in Salinas and here I am back for the 39th California International Airshow.  This perennially fall airshow had to execute a fast turnaround to gain a slot in the Blue Angels’ 2019 schedule.

Having the Blues was a big deal for the organizers as the team last performed here in 2009 and they were hoping for a good turnout on March 23-24, 2019, with an A-list headliner.