The Naval Air Station Oceana Airshow 2023
Story and photos by Shawn Byers
This will be the third report in our pages for the Airshow at NAS Oceana. What more can I possibly say about it?
Let’s get personal with a long-time attendee. It is a special place for me. I didn’t grow up here, I have no service here, and I am not a Fly Navy purist, but I came to my first show here on a whim with a friend on a rainy weekend in 1998 and decided to attend regularly in 2000. I have been to more Airshows here than anywhere else. The familiarity with the base makes it feel like a home field to me despite the 5 hour driving commitment.
Oceana is an annual Airshow. This is not common these days as many bases have gone to biannual schedules, at best. It is one of those big shows that you put on your calendar and build around it. “Sorry, that’s Oceana Weekend”.
Additionally, so many of my Airshow Friends who I have labeled “The Usual Suspects” also attend this show regularly. Reunions happen here and it is a late season show so there is plenty of catching up to do. It is not Oshkosh but for us East Coast Guys, we often say, similarly, “See ya at Oceana”!
If you establish a budget for all your Airshows, Oceana requires you to step it up. Your hotel will probably be on or near Virginia Beach and your swag purchases will increase due to the sheer volume and variety of “Squadron Row”. Oceana is home to 16 F/A-18E/F squadrons. You never know what you are going to find. From T-Shirts to patches, blankets to carpenter’s pencils, there will be something you need to have that you will not find anywhere else.
In addition to featured performers, Oceana showcases their own squadrons in a prime late morning time slot. Seven or so Super Hornets launch to perform a Fleet Air Power Demonstration. More on that later but jet noise is guaranteed at Oceana. I am always interested in who will be representing as I have a few favorites and hopefully they fly a color bird or two (there were none this year, to the chagrin of us jaded photogs).
If the weather is sublime, Oceana is the best place to be. The sun starts behind you and only deteriorates toward the end of the show. The backdrop of the runways is a lush green of trees. The crowd, which grows very large, packs out in an organized chaos and everybody is happy. As I make my typical pre-finale egress from the base, some folks are just coming in to see the Blue Angels performance. A perfect day.
About those perfect days, I was on base Friday, Saturday and most of Sunday. Friday was sunny but quite breezy. Saturday was perfect and Sunday started strong but clouded up toward the afternoon.
One of my annual traditions is to pull over on Oceana Boulevard to photograph the “MUTHA” F-14 through the fence. On Friday, it wasn’t done! The tail was blue but it had no markings. By Saturday morning, it was finished in the colors of VFA-32 “Swordsmen”. Incredible!
Upon entry, there was a variety of static displays at each end of the display ramp. On the north end, the anchor was an EP-3 Orion from Patuxent River. I missed an opportunity to see it arriving but some of my friends were in place. Two blue T-34C Turbo Mentors were present and since the type was retired, I asked the Strike Warfare School group on how they are used. They do come out of depot maintenance with some usable hours. Strike Warfare and VFA 106 are the most frequent users for observation duty and plain old flying hours when they cannot get enough in a Super Hornet.
There was also a B-52 from Barksdale AFB, a Marine Corps MH-53 and the WAVY News 10’s Bell Jet Ranger helicopter, my station of choice when in town.
On the south end, there was an E-2D from the Fleet Replacement Squadron, VAW-120 “Greyhawks out of Naval Air Station Norfolk, an F-15 from New Orleans, a T-45 and a private Cessna floatplane in an exotic green and purple paint scheme.
There were also four Super Hornets parked tail to tail in a cluster and roped off. There was one each from the VFA-105 “Gunslingers”, VFA-131 “Wildcats”, VFA-83 “Rampagers” and VFA-32 “Swordsmen”. OK, these were color birds but having them on static just isn’t the same as in flight. At the time of this writing, these squadrons have deployed on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower to the Mediterranean Sea, later changed to Central Command. Safe Travels to Carrier Air Wing 3.
Melissa Burns got the flying portion started in her blue and white Edge 540. This was my first time seeing her performance.
The other civilian performers included Rob Holland, who remains at the top of the aerobatic world in his red and black MXS-RH. He recently accepted his 12th consecutive National Champion trophy and he has been at almost every show I attended this season.
Greg Koontz and the Alabama Boys performed the drunk farmer routine in his yellow Piper Cub.
Aaron Fitzgerald performed inverted, rolling and looping aerobatics in the Red Bull Bo 105 Helicopter
Bob Carlton performed in his jet assisted Super Salto Sail Plane.
The opening ceremonies always feature The Patriot Riders on motorcycles and the area Corvette Club driving along the ramp to show center. Announcements are made and the National Anthem is sung. This year was a tribute to women in the military and a few of them were presented with certificates and awards. I think a nice touch would have been to feature women in the fleet demonstration but it did not happen that way.
The first military aircraft to launch was an MH-53 Sea Dragon from HM-12, the Fleet Replacement Squadron aptly named the “Sea Dragons” with the Navy Leap Frogs onboard.
The Leap Frogs dropped in carrying a variety of flags to include the First Navy Jack and a 9/11 Remembrance flag. They also demonstrated some combined canopy relative work with their swift chutes.
The EOD Jump Team was the second to jump and they have very different chutes. Much larger and shaped like a wing, they can descend in formation and travel horizontally for miles in near silence.
The U.S. Navy Air Power Demonstration launches around noon. A mass departure of 7 F/A-18 Super Hornets launches left to right and break right or head straight out to a hold. Participating Squadrons were from Carrier Air Wing 1. Three F/A-18Fs of VFA-11, “The Red Rippers”, two F/A-18E’s of VFA-81, “The Sunliners” and two F/A-18E’s of VFA-143, “The Pukin’ Dogs”, recently reassigned from Carrier Air Wing 8.
An E2D from VAW-126 “Seahawks” featured prominently in the scenario and launched and recovered from Oceana. The scenario differs each year but the airfield always gets attacked and blown up. Basic Fighter Maneuvers, bombing, strafing and show of force were demonstrated.
The Fleet returns in a delta formation before landing. If you lost count, you’ll be surprised by a high speed pass of the remaining Super Hornet. All aircraft return and break for landing. After the taxi back and engine shutdown, the demonstration lasted a little over 30 minutes.
The U.S. Air Force F-22 performed and based out of Oceana. This is a big deal since they are based a few miles away at Joint Base Langley-Eustis. There was no flare release but pyrotechnics on the ground were employed. Unfortunately, there was no Heritage Flight as the P-51 Mustang couldn’t attend.
The F/A-18F Super Hornet from VFA-106 “Gladiators” performed the single ship Rhino demonstration. One pass that I noticed is not in this year’s demo is the dirty, hook down pass. Unfortunately there was no Legacy Flight as the Corsair had a minor mechanical issue preventing it from making the trip. I have been snakebitten all season by the Corsair. With three appearances scheduled, none of them showed up for me.
The scheduled F-35C demonstration also did not happen as they canceled the trip for operational reasons.
The Blue Angels closed the show daily.
The Beach Blast returned Saturday night, sort of. It is smaller than it has been but Fat Albert was seen flying overhead, although I did not see any parachutists, and two Super Hornets were to make afterburner passes along the beach but it did not go to script. I was having dinner with friends and the best pass was the first one as they were paired up but there was no warning. Subsequent passes were broken up. A disappointing evening for photography.
All in all, it was a fun weekend as it usually is. This was my final show for 2023 and this year proved that a media pass is not always something you can count on. I wish to thank Jackie Parashar of the NAS Oceana Public Affairs Office and her team for the smooth processing this year. She worked hard for me last year on a Saturday morning.
Until next September, See ya at Oceana!
