The 2025 MCAS Beaufort Airshow, and the Enduring Magic of “the Old Breed”

Story and photos by Bryan T. Mangan

The Marine Corps that I once knew was never into half-measures. It went long each time, every time, and like a magician it knew how to put on a good show – be it an Evening Parade, a Marathon, or an Airshow. The 2025 Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort Airshow demonstrated that the U.S. Marine Corps, in its 250th year, has not lost that magic touch, and without a doubt this year’s Marine Corps airshow on the east coast continued that tradition.

The two day airshow offered guests a host of civilian and military performances, covering everything from classic warbirds to high performance sport-flying demonstrations to local and national display teams. The daily crowd approached or exceeded 100,000 attendees, and the lineup was varied and catered to the various interests.

Displays included tributes to Marine Corps history with the Devil Dog Squadron’s B-25J opening the show, numerous civilian aerobatic performers, and several military displays. The resident F-35 training unit VMFAT-501 provided an F-35B demonstration; the US Air Force supported with its F-16 Viper demonstration team; the U.S. Army Golden Knights jumped twice per day; and finally the U.S. Navy Blue Angels were the show headliners.

Local 2d Marine Air Wing (MAW) squadrons provided a taste of Marine Aviation’s support to the Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) with their “MAGTF Demonstration.” The MAGTF Demo used a limited number of aircraft but provided a fast-paced display of Marine aviation components support to their fellow Marines on the ground. The MAGTF Demo is always a highlight of any Marine Corps airshow as it allows the MAW to display the impressive flying skills of Marine Aviators piloting several types less-often seen Marine Corps aircraft.

Some of the civilian performers included Goulian Aerosports in his Extra 330SC; RJ Gritter’s impressive Decathlon performance; Retired LtGen Bob “Rooster” Schmidle in his Pitts S2-B; the graceful Full Throttle Formation Team; Chris “CT” Thomas and Mike “Buick” Eberhardt from Warbird Thunder Airshows in a pair of SNJs; and from Washington State, Stephen Christopher and Todd Rudberg of Undaunted Airshows. The variety and pace of the 2025 MCAS Beaufort airshow is worth noting, and to be clear, there was virtually no downtime between performances.

The enthusiastic support from the South Carolina Low Country was clear as hosts announced that the parking had reached peak capacity and had to be closed due to reaching maximum parking for attendees on Saturday afternoon. For enthusiasts, the “swag” stalls set up by local USMC squadrons clearly demonstrated their proud and longstanding connections to the state of South Carolina, as did the South Carolina state flag displayed on the underside of the cowling for the lift fan of the F-35B.

There was clear hometown support for Blue Angels #3, Left Wing pilot Major Brandon Wilkins of the U.S. Marine Corps. As a native of Beaufort, South Carolina, Brandon had a broad following amongst the crowd. There were cheers following each announcement of Major Wilkins name, position, or hometown, and scores of friends or family wore navy blue t-shirts with a big gold “3” on the front.

Static display aircraft were spread out over a wide area. Displays included the bulk of aircraft in the Marine Corps inventory, including warbirds, aircraft from state agencies, and examples from most other military services. Two AV-8B Harriers were present, and represented one of the last remaining opportunities to see the type in Marine Corps service before its retirement in 2026.

Announcer Luke Carrico and Air Boss Wayne Boggs both know that recruiting is the mission of military support to airshows, and they found a willing partner in MCAS Beaufort. The show was well supported, both by the Marines of MCAS Beaufort and by their local partners. The many static displays allowed the public to see their Armed Forces, and especially their Marine Corps, up close, and the MAGTF Demo allowed the local community to appreciate the capabilities and core missions of Marine Corps Aviation.

As noted above, Marines can work some magic, and 2025 is their 250th anniversary. The service as a whole takes pride in putting on a good show, while continuing to support its global mission and meet its worldwide commitments. The 2025 MCAS Beaufort Airshow may not have shown everything the Marines of 2d MAW can do, but it did what it could to give the local community a glimpse of how the Marine Corps MAGTF trains, how it fights, and how its aviation supports ground forces as a combined arms team. More importantly, the show was a fast-paced, exciting event. The only downside worth noting is that aviation enthusiasts and the public in the Low Country of South Carolina will unfortunately have to wait until 2027 for the Marines of Beaufort to work their magic again.

Bryan is an aviation photographer based in Northern Virginia, a Nikon user, and a retired U.S. Marine. 

Special thanks to MCAS Beaufort Communication Strategy and Operations (COMMSTAT) Marines SSgt Parker Golz, GySgt Kayla Rivera, and 1stLt Lyndsay Cribb for their support leading up to and during the show.

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