Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

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Berf
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Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

Post by Berf »

For those we cannot make up their minds for Edwards or this show on the same dates:

Canadian Snowbirds
USAF F-35 Demo Team
USAF Heritage Flight
Navy VFA-122 F-18 Demo Team
Navy VFA-122 Legacy Flight
C-130 Demo
E-2 Hawkeye Demo Team
National Guard F-15 Flybys
Red Bull Air Force
Kirby Chamblis - Edge 540
Kevin Coleman - Extra 300
Aaron Fitzgerald - Bo105
High Alpha MiG-17
Sammy Mason - Edge 540
RAD Jet Waco
Swamp Fox P-51 Demo
Eric Tucker - Piper Cub

Planes of Fame plan to send:
Lockheed P-38J “Lightning”
Curtiss P-40N “Warhawk”
North American P-51D “Mustang” (2 aircraft)
Grumman F8F “Bearcat”
Lockheed T-33A “Shooting Star”
North American F-86F “Sabre”
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis
North American B-25J “Mitchell”
Vought F4U-1A “Corsair”
Douglas SBD-5 “Dauntless”
General Motors TBM-3E “Avenger”
Vultee BT-13B “Valiant”

West Coast C17 demo team removed from original list

verreli
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Re: Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

Post by verreli »

The Hawkeye and Fresno flybys were awfully tempting but I've settled on two days at Edwards. Bang bang.

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spellow3010
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Re: Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

Post by spellow3010 »

Doing Edwards on the Saturday, and have my early bird ticket ($15 I think) for Santa Maria for the Sunday.

Looking forward to both shows.
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Berf
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Re: Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

Post by Berf »

I will be outside on the Friday and am waiting to see what more Edwards comes up with before deciding whether to stay for a day before heading to Edwards for Sunday or just heading to Edwards for two days.

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Roger_Over
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Re: Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

Post by Roger_Over »

I've never been to an airshow in the US but this weekend looks great, will be at Edwards on Saturday and have the early bird tickets for Santa Maria on Sunday. Hopefully the lineup won't change too much... :fingers_crossed:

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boff180
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Re: Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

Post by boff180 »

spellow3010 wrote:
Mon 01 Aug 2022, 7:15 am
Doing Edwards on the Saturday, and have my early bird ticket ($15 I think) for Santa Maria for the Sunday.

Looking forward to both shows.
I will therefore see you at both :-)

Probably end up travelling in convoy between them too lol

verreli
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Re: Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

Post by verreli »

...and if you're staying in California City (as I am) then possibly staying in the same hotel.

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boff180
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Re: Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

Post by boff180 »

Nah Barstow and Palmdale for me :-)

verreli
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Re: Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

Post by verreli »

OT - Best make it an early start if you're heading for the West entrance. The whole of LA is likely coming from that direction. I hear the North entrance is better.

Berf
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Re: Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

Post by Berf »

verreli wrote:
Mon 01 Aug 2022, 6:51 pm
...and if you're staying in California City (as I am) then possibly staying in the same hotel.
I am at the Best Western

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spellow3010
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Re: Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

Post by spellow3010 »

boff180 wrote:
Mon 01 Aug 2022, 4:02 pm
spellow3010 wrote:
Mon 01 Aug 2022, 7:15 am
Doing Edwards on the Saturday, and have my early bird ticket ($15 I think) for Santa Maria for the Sunday.

Looking forward to both shows.
I will therefore see you at both :-)

Probably end up travelling in convoy between them too lol
Absolutely Andy... If we're staying in Barstow, might be worth dinner in the Fire House :heart_eyes:
Now officially qualifies as a 'regular' at Famous Dave's - El Centro

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spellow3010
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Re: Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

Post by spellow3010 »

A really enjoyable gem of an airshow this one, bolstered by some fantastic static items.

The numerous Warbird elements were really well flown indeed, with some majestic topside pass/approaches from stage left/right photographic opportunities of aircraft such as P38s, P51s, a B25, a gorgeous Corsair and quite a few others too. Classic jets including a phenomenal display by a red Mig17, and then a later mixed F86 sabre and Mig15 pair routine was also really well flown and made for some great photos too.

Other significant flying elements in the display (in my opinion) were the C130 water bombing demo, the West Coast F-18 Super Hornet demo (gorgeous VFA122 CAG bird and complete with fast pass vapour cone!!) and C-17 Globemaster III role demo adding fine interest. Although we had to leave before the F35A demo, I believe the demo was performed by a Hill AFB example, with a 2nd airframe acting as spare.

Static - honourable mentions to the Dyess C130 (open for inspection), USN VRC30 C2 Greyhound, another VFA122 Super Hornet (this being a 3rd example as they also provided the flying spare), Beale T-38, Fallon F-5, F35A from Luke, USMC F35Bs and a USN F35C... a pair of Luke AFB F-16s too - including the sand cammo special. Lots more patches bought!

Summary -
In truth, I enjoyed this more as a static show and a flying display than the 'big show' at Edwards AFB the day before. Whilst I won't be rushing back to Edwards any time soon, this gem in Santa Maria will be one to look out for should the show return in the future. A really good day out that one... well done.

--
It was great to catch up with Boff at Santa Maria as well... Hope you got home safely sir... and a shame about Wasps RUFC.
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roger
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Re: Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

Post by roger »

Fully agree with you, spellow, a real gem of a show. Passes were closer to the crowd, lower and included passes from behind and towards crowd-center (US rules!) than we now get here.

The F-35A display to close the show was excellent, and also included a fast pass vapour cone, all set against a glorious blue sky. The F-35A also joined up with one of the P-38s and one of the P-51s for a truly memorable heritage flight segment.

Planes of Fame Museum break ground in the next few weeks on a hangar to create a second base here at Santa Maria, to add to Chino, and so future displays here might be even better.

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UK Airshow Review
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Re: Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

Post by UK Airshow Review »

  • "Gaining Fame" - During his recent visit to the USA, Andy Evans attended the 2022 Central Coast AirFest.

    Image Image Image

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spellow3010
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Re: Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

Post by spellow3010 »

A fair review Andy and with some nice images to go with it... saves me processing mine :rofl:

And a gold star to you for shoe-horning my favourite word into your report... :star_struck: 'Plethora...' means a lot to me.
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verreli
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Re: Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

Post by verreli »

Some really nice images to go with the report. I especially like the F18 shot where you can see the shock within the vapour cone. I've not seen that before.

Berf
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Re: Central Coast AirFest - Santa Maria 15-16 October

Post by Berf »

And another late post - and another agreeing with Andy. It was a super show and the F35 display was great which bodes well for RIAT. One item that was not mentioned which was captivating in a weird way was the Waco with a jet engine strapped to the underside. Bizarre but entertaining - not sure the CAA would see it that way.

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