Air Shows

If you're dreaming about becoming a pilot in the Air Force, an AETC Demo Team performance is the perfect opportunity to learn what it takes to earn your wings.

Each exhibition features a single pilot performing the basic maneuvers all military student pilots must execute during flight training, while demonstrating the impressive capabilities of the newest and most advanced Air Force trainer, the T-6A Texan II.

Designed as a replacement for the aging fleet of T-37s, the T-6A Texan II is the most advanced primary trainer ever flown by the Air Force. The aircraft is fully aerobatic, featuring a pressurized cockpit with an anti-G system and an advanced avionics package with sunlight-readable liquid crystal displays.

There are two AETC Demo Teams performing around the country – an East Coast team based at Moody AFB, Georgia and a West Coast team based at Randolph AFB, Texas.

The USAF Air Combat Command (ACC) Single-Ship Demonstration Teams perform precision aerial maneuvers in operational fighters. The exhibitions not only demonstrate the unique capabilities of the Air Force high-performance aircraft, but also the professional qualities the Air Force develops in the people who fly, maintain and support these aircraft.

There are six ACC Demonstration Teams based around the nation, each comprised of one demo pilot, nine maintenance personnel and four narrators.

The USAF established the Heritage Flight program in 1997 to support the Air Force 50th anniversary. The exhibition features today's state-of-the-art fighters flying in close formation with World War II and Korean War vintage fighters, such as the P-51 Mustang and the F-86 Sabre. The Heritage Flight mission: To safely and proudly display the evolution of United States Air Force air power and to support Air Force recruiting and retention efforts.

ACC Heritage Flight Pilots

• Maj. Gen. Bill Anders, USAF, Ret.
  • P-51: Val-Halla
• Brig. Gen. Reg Urschler, USAF, Ret.
  • P-51: Gunfighter
• Col. Frank Borman, USAF, Ret.
  • P-51: Su Su II
• Capt. Dale Snodgrass, USN, Ret.
  • P-51: Excaliber
  • F-86: Skyblazers
• Mr. Jim Beasley, Jr.
  • P-51: Frenesi & Bald Eagle
• Mr. Tom Gregory
  • P-47: Tarheel Hal
• Mr. Chuck Hall
  • P-51: Six-Shooter
• Mr. Steve Hinton
  • P-38: Joltin' Josie
  • P-47: Spirit of New Jersey
  • P-51: Wee Willy II
  • P-40/F-86
• Mr. Brad Hood
  • P-51: Shangrila
• Mr. Lee Lauderback
  • P-51: Crazy Horse
• Mr. Vlado Lenoch
  • P-51: Moonbeam McSwine
• Mr. Ed Shipley
  • P-51: Big Beautiful Doll
  • F-86: FU-461

"Living the Dream" is an air show performance that honors three eras of aerobatics in three acts: Barnstormers, Competitors, and Skydancers. Inspiring music and narration take spectators on a tour of the last 100 years of flight. The journey starts with a tribute to the first flight at Kitty Hawk and finishes with present-day, high-energy aerobatics. The performance includes low knife-edge passes, snap rolls, tumbles, the centrifuge, the double hammerhead, torque rolls, and pilot Ed Hamill's signature maneuver, the Lucky Dog.

Ed Hamill, Aerobatic Show Pilot

Before Ed Hamill, pilot of the Air Force Reserve Above and Beyond Aerobatic Show, mastered his aerobatic biplane, the Dream Machine, he flew the F-16 Fighting Falcon. He spent 10 years in the Air Force and accumulated more than 2,500 flying hours, including 80 hours of combat time in Bosnia and Iraq. He has competed in three U.S. National Aerobatic Championships and qualified for the U.S. Advanced Aerobatic Team in 2002. He is currently a member of the Air Force Reserve and continues to fly fighters and train future F-16 pilots.