Ultimate Harrier: The 2024 MCAS Cherry Point Air Show

Story by Shawn Byers, photos by Shawn Byers and Bryan T. Mangan

I would have been here anyway, but the 2024 edition of the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point Air Show was not to be missed. Among the other strong performers on the schedule, this show was to be the final public demonstration of the famous and venerable AV-8B Harrier II. Only two squadrons remain flying the Harrier and the last Harrier pilots have been trained. Marine Attack Squadron, VMA-231 “Ace of Spades”, the oldest squadron in the Marine Corps and Marine Attack Squadron, VMA-223 “Bulldogs” will replace their Harriers with the F-35B Lightning II in 2025 and 2026, respectively. They both had high visibility examples on static display.

The air show occurred on May 11th and 12th. It is typically warm this time of year but not too warm in Coastal North Carolina. MCAS Cherry Point is located in Havelock, about midway between New Bern and Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. Unfortunately, there is only one road to the base and that was a big problem on Saturday.

MCAS Cherry Point has a long history of Marine Air training, readiness and deployment continuously since 1942. The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing is the host unit. Other flying units based here include Marine Fighter Attack Squadron, VMFA-542, “Tigers” flying the F-35B, Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron, VMGR-252, “Otis” flying the KC-130J Hercules and Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron, VMU-2, “Night Owls” flying the RQ-21A Blackjack Drone. More squadrons are coming in the future. VMFA-251 “Thunderbolts” are slated to base here in 2025 with F-35Cs. Some overheard scuttlebutt alluded to six fighter squadrons eventually being based here. Exciting times.

Cherry Point has two sets of parallel runways, all of which are over 8,000 feet long. I have seen a lot of airport layouts, and this is the most unusual one in that all four runway thresholds meet in a middle concrete pad with a minimal offset. Runway 14L/32R is the show runway. The sun starts in front and to the right of you, moving behind you in the afternoon.

I heard that on Saturday, 80,000 people attended the air show. I also heard that many drivers were stuck on Highway 70 for hours. There were a lot of clouds, but no single aerial routine was ruined by them.

Each day began with the 2nd Marine Air Wing Band, marching from the right to show center. At approximately 1100, the All-Veteran Jump Team dropped from a KC-130J with multiple flags including the National Flag while an enlisted Marine sung the National Anthem.

The first aerial performer was Stephen Covington’s short show in his very green “Fury” Pitts S2S biplane.

The jet noise got going early with the F-35B demonstration. I heard it was flown by a VMFAT-501 pilot but he used a VMFA-542 airframe. The color bird of VMFA-542 nicknamed “Black Death” was parked on the hot ramp but, disappointingly, never flew all weekend. The F-35B performed multiple fast passes before demonstrating the hover at show center.
Hubie Tolson, a native of New Bern and flying a red and white Sukhoi 31, flew his final air show performances as he retires from competitive flying. Congratulations, Hubie and thanks for the Cherry Point memories.

The Jack Aces P-51 Mustang formation team had launched earlier into a hold and returned in formation. Lou Horschel and Ariel Luedi keep “Mad Max” and “the Little Witch” tight throughout the looping and rolling routine.

The MV-22 Osprey returned to flight status in the spring and performed a demonstration to include the hover at show center. The MV-22 was not used in the Marine Air Ground Task Force Demonstration later in the day.

Tom Larkin launched in his always fun to watch, Sub Sonex Minijet and Retired Marine Corps General, Robert Schmidle performed in his red Pitts S2.

Randy Ball then performed in his beautiful Mig-17. I have seen Randy many times and it was noticeable that he did not employ any afterburner and his passes were slower. I never found out why this was the case. Randy had a race on Saturday with Hot Streak and won it handily even without the afterburner.

Stephen Covington returned for his full show in Fury.

The F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team launched to represent the U.S. Air Force. It is not seen everywhere but the power loops with the employment of defensive countermeasure flares are a crowd favorite.

R.J. Gritter performed in his red, white and blue, Super Decathlon. It is fully aerobatic but not high powered like the Pitts. His maneuvers were smooth and graceful.

Midway through R.J.’s routine, you start to hear it in the distance. The whine and pitch are unmistakable. It is the single Rolls Royce Pegasus engine of the Harrier. I appreciate what the planners did here. The time slot was prime as the sun had already moved behind us. The VMA-231 Harrier taxied along the entire crowd line before launching. Once launched, it performed a “photo pass” revealing the topside, something I have never seen before. After a few more fast passes, the Harrier demonstrated the hover, pirouette, sidestep and water injected power away before recovering for a landing. A fitting final demo.

The next performance is my favorite at a Marine Corps air show. I have always said that I could watch a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Demonstration all day long. Attack jets, attack helicopters, transport helicopters and troops are all brought to bear.

An F-35B launched from Cherry Point and simulated the first contact over the battle space. F/A-18s from VMFA-312 “Checkerboards” and Harriers from VMA-231 attacked the area. One of the F/A-18s was still in the “Merica” colors of VMFA-533 “Hawks” who are converting to the F-35B.

An AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom helicopter moved in for close air support and reconnaissance, flying orbits as a tandem.

Two heavy lift CH-53s approached from the East. One was a CH-53E Super Stallion. The other was the new CH-53K King Stallion. A group of Marines deployed out of the back ramp and set up a defensive position while the CH-53s lifted off. While the Marines advanced, there was continuous reconnaissance and close air support from the Viper/Venom Team and occasional attack profile flybys of the jets. At the end, all remaining pyrotechnics used in the demonstration are blown off in one spectacular wall of fire. Some of the remaining aircraft returned for an aerial refueling demonstration before returning from whatever field they were based out of.

The Blue Angels, including Fat Albert on Saturday, closed the show. I stayed for the Saturday show but egressed prior to the Sunday show. Both days were almost identical in schedule.

All in all, it was a great air show weekend. It is always nice to be onboard Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. I wish to thank the entire Communication Strategy and Operations Team led by Capt Rossi, including Lt. Graham, as well as Samantha Kupiainen and Felicia from Public Affairs for their assistance throughout the weekend.