The action all began on the Friday evening. After a full rehearsal for the media and invited guests during the daytime, NAS Oceana opened its gates to the public at 1700hrs for the Twilight Evening show to begin. Along with several civilian acts, taking part in spectacular displays that evening was the United States Air Force F-15 East Coast Solo demonstration together with Dale Snodgrass in his F-86 Sabre for the heritage flight flypast. There was also a solo demonstration by the US Navy’s F/A-18C aircraft and some high speed passes at night by an F/A-18F Super Hornet which lit up the sky with its afterburner. Fat Albert, the Blue Angels KC-130T support aircraft, provided a night time Jet Assisted Take Off (JATO) and closing the show on Friday evening was a spectacular fireworks display.

Saturday and Sunday saw the main public days of the weekend, with gates opening at 0800, and the flying display beginning at 1000. The first major military item opening the show was a US Navy E-2C Hawkeye operated by Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 'One Two Zero' (VAW-120) from nearby NS Norfolk.  Following this, launching just after 1000 was one of the main highlights of the event, known as the ‘Fleet Aircraft Launch’. Thirteen jets, which included a solo F/A-18F Super Hornet operated by Strike Fighter Squadron 'One Zero Six' (VFA-106), four F-14D Tomcats operated by Fighter Squadron 'Thirty One' (VF-31), four F/A-18C Hornets operated by Strike Fighter Squadrons 'Eighty Seven' (VFA-87) and 'Thirty Four' (VFA-34) and finally four F/A-18F Super Hornets operated by Strike Fighter Squadron 'Eleven' (VFA-11).  Twelve of the aircraft then formed up over the Atlantic Ocean and then carried out a flypast over NAS Oceana above the crowd.  Known as the 'Fleet Flyby', this was a moving tribute to the victims of September 11, 2001, and to the men and women who have served and are continuing to serve in the United States Navy in support of the Global War on Terror. This was then followed by the VFA-106 F/A-18F executing a sneak fast pass in front of the crowd at almost the speed of sound. The Super Hornet was moving at such a speed, that anyone who doesn’t know its coming sure will have his or her eyebrows blown off!  He's fast, low and if moisture is in the atmosphere, usually engulfed in vapour!  The formation of aircraft then split up into pairs and the 'Air Power Demo' began.

A real bonus though that wasn’t expected, was a flying F-104 Starfighter! The last time I had seen one of these actually display was 1999 in the UK. The Starfighters Air Show Demonstration Team is the only fully operational, civilian owned Supersonic Jet Team on the US Air Show Circuit. They operate two F-104 Starfighters and have a third awaiting restoration in the hangar. The two operational aircraft were originally in service with the Royal Canadian Air Force. They both later served with the Royal Norwegian Air Force before being imported into the US in private hands. In the weeks leading up to the air show, it was confirmed that one F-104 would be appearing on static display, ok still nice to see, but to get one in the air would be even better! Sure enough, just days before the Oceana air show, it was announced that the Starfighters Air Show Demonstration Team would be flying one solo two seat CF-104D at the event. Although a brief demonstration, which mainly included high speed passes from left to right, that distinctive howl sound that the aircraft makes sure did bring back memories of the display routines I used to see as a much younger aviation enthusiast! It even flew twice on Saturday and Sunday as a substitute for Dale Snodgrass not being able to get airborne in his F-86.

Getting back to the military hardware, we saw demonstrations by the US Navy’s F/A-18C Hornet and F/A-18F Super Hornet. Both were VFA-106 ‘Gladiators’ jets which is the East Coast Fleet Replacement Squadron. With the introduction of the newer F/A-18E/F Super Hornet to the United States Navy, VFA-106 now trains Naval and Marine Corps aviators to fly four variants of the F/A-18. These being the F/A-18C (single seat) F/A-18D (twin seat) F/A-18E (single seat) and F/A-18F (twin seat). The US Navy uses the F/A-18D primarily for training, while the Marine Corps use it for attack, tactical air control, airborne forward air control, and reconnaissance. The F/A-18C, now known as the ‘Legacy Hornet’ has been a mainstay of the Navy’s tactical striking power since the mid-80’s. The Tactical demonstration of the F/A-18C combines eye watering quickness and agility with remarkable slow speed handling performance in an aerial demonstration that thrills and amazes the audience. Although personally, I prefer the latest Super Hornet, the F/A-18F. While it may not be a Tomcat, its rapidly becoming world renowned as an awesome display of thrilling high speed, high G manoeuvres, coupled with heart stopping slow speed performance. The crew from the Gladiators jet pushed the two-seat F/A-18F to its limits as safety allows, while still amazing even the most experienced aviators. The high speed pass towards the end of the demo is certainly impressive, followed by a wall of fire explosion on the airfield, courtesy of ‘Rich’s Incredible Pyro’ team. The tactical demonstration highlights the incredible power and grace of Naval Aviation’s newest addition, affectionately known as the ‘Rhino’.

The 509th Bomb Wing B-2A flew direct from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri on Sunday only and made two passes over the airfield. Ok, it was a little lower than the usual flypasts we get at RIAT in the UK at Fairford, and didn’t have the F-15 escorts, but it still lacked that touch, particularly the second pass. I believe those on the outside of the base perimeter would have got a better view than the audience did at the Air Show. ACC really don’t like showing this machine off, despite it being in service for over 10 years now. The F-117A, a 49th Fighter Wing jet from Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, was surprisingly a lot better than expected. Several low speed, low altitude passes were executed by the Nighthawk followed by a top side, yes I say again, top side pass in front of the crowd! You could hear the firing of camera shutters being released in the audience and the delight of photographers as the pilot tilted his wing. This is something that is certainly not seen during the brief demonstrations we have seen in the UK, of which we may have seen the last, as with the F-22A Raptor now declared operationally combat ready, there is no requirement for the F-117A, and the entire batch of around 50 Nighthawks remaining in service with the USAF will be retired during 2009.

Static highlights at this years show really did include several tasty items. I have to say, in the last three years I have attended the show at Oceana, 2006 really does come out top. To mention a few, were a pair of USAF 188th Fighter Wing/184th Fighter Squadron F-16C’s of the Arkansas Air National Guard, a pair of USAF 46th Test Wing machines from Eglin Air Force Base in the form of an F-15E and F-16D, a USAF 49th Fighter Wing T-38 and F-117A from Holloman Air Force Base, and a USAF 1st Fighter Wing/94th Fighter Squadron F-22A from nearby Langley Air Force Base, the first Raptor I had seen up close, so a real bonus, although I did manage to catch the aircraft’s arrival on the Thursday before the show.