The organizers were able to bring in every Air Combat Command Demo team for an epic Heritage Flight, as well as the USAF Thunderbirds.
A Return To Dover
Photography: Christian Gross
First State Airshow | Dover Air Force Base | May 18-19
It was nice to return to Dover AFB as they hosted the First State Airshow this past May. My previous visit to Dover in 2022 was memorable not only due to both the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds performing, but also the 100+ degree heatwave that blanketed the area. This time around the temperature was much more cooperative, but the rain decided to cause a little delay. Saturday morning was a wash but after clearing up at noon we were able to get in some flying, and Sunday turned out to be a great day for flying.
The airshow had some solid acts including Rob Holland, Patrick McAlee, the Jersey Jerks in their SNJs, Scooter Yoak in his P-51 Quick Silver, and the highlights were the F-15C and F-35A demos. For me, in particular, I was very excited to see the F-15C demo again (the last time being years ago in Willow Grove), and this was to be my first time seeing any of the F-35 teams.
Even with Saturday cut short, we had a good display and then on Sunday were able to see the full lineup. Precision Exotics was on hand racing their super cars down the runway, which is always fun to watch. Hayden Proffitt put on a fantastic display of his jet truck, Hot Streak II. American Airpower Museum brought their Avenger and P-40 warbirds to fly with the B-25 Panchito. Bill Culberson flew the heck out of the MiG-17. We also had nice flybys and demos for the KC-135, the C-17 Globemaster III and the C-5M Super Galaxy. By the time the fighters went up, the moisture in the air provided some amazing conditions for vapor. Team Commander Captain Melanie “Mach” Kluesner flew her F-35A through a number of passes and maneuvers. I can say that it was an extremely exciting display with several jaw dropping moments for me. Overall, while the weather presented some early challenges, I was smiling ear to ear by close on Sunday. I look forward to returning to Dover in the future.
