Wings and Eagles: A Farewell Flight and a Look Ahead in Klamath Falls
Story and photos by Steve Lewis
Klamath
The roar of afterburners echoed across the Klamath Basin this past July as the Wings and Eagles Airshow filled the skies once again with some familiar sights and sounds. Under warm sunshine and summer temperatures that hovered in the high 80s, an estimated 38,000 to 45,000 people made their way to Kingsley Field to witness what felt like both a celebration and a goodbye.
For many in the crowd, the airshow was more than a weekend of aviation thrills. While the USAF Thunderbirds were the ‘headline’ act, it was the Klamath based F-15s that were front and center. This was a final chance for many to honor the F-15 Eagles that have called Klamath Falls home for over three decades. With the last of the jets scheduled to depart in December, each flyover and high-speed pass carried a weight of history. Parents lifted children onto their shoulders, veterans shaded their eyes with ballcaps, and families stood in silence as the Eagles thundered past, knowing this was one of the final times they would hear that sound over their hometown.
The weekend was not just about aircraft—it was about people. Nearly 300 volunteers worked behind the scenes to make the event possible. Of those, around 100 came directly from the community, representing local schools, service organizations, and civic groups. From parking cars to guiding guests through static displays, their efforts stitched the show together and reminded everyone that Kingsley Field and Klamath Falls are inseparable. This community bond was also evident in their ‘Fighter Friday’ block party down on Main St. in the heart of town. Live music, food, and even visits by the Thunderbirds team created an amazing atmosphere of social unity.
Earlier on Friday afternoon, I had a chance to speak with Thunderbird #5, Major Laney ‘Rogue’ Schol. I asked her what her dedicated Dedicated Crew Chief, SSgt Kaitlin Ankrom, meant to her and what it was like having the same person accompany her from show to show. She told me, “One of the highlights of being on this team is obviously the people. I’m working with people who are excellent at their jobs and have the highest abilities at their jobs, and to form those relationships, both professionally and personally, with my dedicated Crew Chief, as well as my Assistant Dedicated Crew Chief…….it means so much to me. Because we have established this trust where they are setting my switches for me for show launches, and I get into the cockpit, and I don’t look at them. Then I go and take off with those switches. I trust them with my life. On the same token, they trust me with their life that I’m going to hold the brakes when I’m supposed to hold the brakes and I’m not going to touch the flight controls when they are underneath the aircraft. Putting on these demonstrations every single week, you need to have that level of knowing each other.”
That sense of unity was everywhere at the show as well. Veterans swapped stories in the shade of a C-17 Globemaster. Children giggled as they climbed into the cockpits of WWII training aircraft. Families shared picnic blankets along the tarmac, pointing skyward as demonstration teams carved perfect arcs through the blue.
Even as the airshow marked the closing chapter of the F-15 era, there was a clear sense of anticipation. Kingsley Field is preparing for the F-35A Lightning II, with the first arrivals expected in late 2026 or early 2027 once infrastructure improvements are complete. The next-generation fighter promises new opportunities for training, innovation, and—organizers hope—the chance to host another Wings and Eagles Airshow in 2027.
For now, though, the memories belong to the Eagles. As the sun dipped toward the Cascade Range and the crowd filtered out through the gates, the day’s excitement softened into something quieter: pride. Pride in the aircraft, pride in the airmen who have flown them, and pride in the community that has stood by them through decades of change.
The F-15s may soon depart, but their legacy is etched into the skies of southern Oregon. And if the weekend’s energy was any indication, the future of flight in Klamath Falls is just beginning to take off.
