We always look forward to the airshow at the El Centro NAS.

fireworks-f6_07

Usually, its the Hellcat that puts on the fireworks display!

 
As well as being the inaugural airshow of the season for us, El Centro is the winter home to the Navy’s Blue Angels and a big supporter of the Wing.

We are thrilled to be back to El Centro for 2017 and arrived in style, bringing the F6F Hellcat, F8F Bearcat, B25-PBJ, A6M3 Zero and the YAK3, jus to name a few of the warbirds representing CAFSoCal.

A few images from the show with our aircraft and the Blue Angels:

As a bonus, this year’s event included a photo session with a Blue Angels F18 and our Hellcat and Bearcat. This image represents 71 years of Blue Angel’s history, with the F6F Hellcat having been the Blue’s first mount in 1946 before they quickly transitioned to the F8F Bearcat, their last prop driven aircraft. Below are a few images captured by our own Russ Babbitt who was aboard the PBJ for the flight:

The appearance of the Zero represents days of hard work by a dedicated ground crew, installing an overhauled engine in time for the show. We were lucky to have Frank Mormillo present at the show who shared the following images with us showing the Zero along with the P51 from Palm Springs:

Truly and exceptional airshow for us in 2017!