Air Show T-Shirts From My Past

by Ken Kula · Published July 13, 2024

The Kansas Air National Guard operated ten B-1B Lancers from 1994 to 2002. They participated in the Royal International Air Tattoo in 1997, where I got this great shirt.

Collecting aviation memorabilia has been a hobby of mine for more than thirty-five years. I’ve purchased a number of T-shirts at air shows large and small. Selling Squadron, Wing, Command, etc. shirts, patches, challenge coins and other unit-marked merchandise can infuse funds for recreational pursuits of those servicemembers in these units; it’s a great way to advertise who they are too.

Here are twenty-seven examples of artwork from some of my T-shirt collection. Some examples of rather historic events are well-worn… my aim here is to describe the artwork and reason for the design, not to infringe on any copyrights! If there are two-sided designs, the front design is located in a smaller highlighted box aside of the main shirt design.

The U. S. Navy and Marine Corps is served by VX-9, an Air Test and Evaluation Squadron. Check out their historic collection of aircraft types that they’ve evaluated.

The Connecticut Air National Guard celebrated their seventy-fifth Anniversary in 1998, while flying the A-10 Thunderbolt !!. Some of their previously-operated jets include the F-100 Super Sabre and F-102 Delta Dagger.

The Ohio Air National Guard’s 121 Air Refueling Wing operates from Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base. I got this shirt at the Gathering of Mustangs and Legends event there in 2007.

The 157th Air Refueling Wing of the New Hampshire Air National Guard operated the KC-135 for decades. The Wildcats logo comes from the University of New Hampshire’s sports mascot design.

The California Capital Airshow was held at Sacramento’s Mather Airport in 2010, when four P-38 Lightnings graced the skies together.

Florida’s Eglin Air Force base celebrated its seventy-fifth Anniversary in 2021, the 6th SOS had one each of their Mil-17 and UH-1 helicopters on display.

Not really an air show T-shirt, but a local (to me) restaurant has the aviation spirit with airplane models hanging from the ceiling for atmosphere!

The Centennial of Naval Aviation occurred in 2011, there were many shirts available at NAS North Island, which held the year’s initial celebratory air show.

The Royal International Air Show is normally held at RAF Fairford, but for the 2000 and 2001 shows, it moved to RAF Cottesmore while Fairford’s infrastructure was updated.

The Royal Australian Air Force operated the F-111C “Pig”; I got this at the big Avalon Air Show before the Pigs were phased out.

This is part of an air show deal when you bought the Fly Navy book, you got this cool T-shirt too.

The Hurricane Hunters are an Air Force Reserve Squadron… note the WC-130J silhouette.

MCAS Kaneohe Bay celebrated the U. S. Marine Corps Aviation’s 100th Anniversary in 2012, with a big air show.

Selfridge Air National Guard Base is north of Detroit, Michigan and was home to A-10 Thunderbolt IIs in 2009.

Once, at a NAS Patuxent River Open House, the Navy’s only MZ-3A airship was on static display, “Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt”!

Elmendorf AFB, Alaska hosts it’s Arctic Thunder Open House regularly. The shirt shows silhouettes of the 3rd Wing aircraft stationed there.

I was lucky enough to meet aerobatic pilot Greg Poe in 2010. Unfortunately in 2011 he died of a heart attack, so this shirt is a reminder of Greg’s zest for aviation…twenty-two air shows in one season.

Alas, the Reno Air Races are no more, but I attended several of these events… 2014 was my last trip to Reno.

The Royal International Air Tattoo is the largest yearly meeting of military aircraft in the world, I attended several, including this keynote 2000 event.

NAS Oceana is home to the Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic, now comprised of just Super Hornets. I got this shirt during the Legacy Hornet and F-14 Tomcat years.

The New York Air Show was held at Newburg’s Stewart International Airport through 2019, then moved to the Orange County Airport for the 2020 and later years’ events.

The Texas Flying Legends flew an action-packed routine with several World War II warbirds. The Wiscasset event was held at a small airport, adding the excitement of being close to the action.

I think this shirt was sold during the 2011 Centennial of Naval Aviation by VFA-15 personnel.

Tomcat T-shirts are a thing of the past, as the Grumman jet was retired from NAS Oeana in 2006.

This shirt was bought in Avalon, Australia during the 2009 air show. The Super Hornet was purchased by the RAAF and Boeing had launched an around-the-world tour which stopped there.