I've been going to the Cherry Point Air Show since 1991. My personal belief is that Cherry Point has a playbook that is passed down from air show director to air show director and they never deviate from it. There are a number of things they could do, from a production standpoint, to improve the show and put on a truly spectacular event.OwenORourke wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2024 8:12 pm Does anyone know why this show skews so heavily on civilian acts, whereas Yuma is more the opposite?
-Taxi the performing aircraft in front of the crowd. Don't have them turn away from the crowd and taxi down the far taxi way.
-CP has four runways - one is used to park cars, one is for the show. The two others should only be used in case of emergency. All aircraft performing at the air show should launch and recover on the runway in front of the crowd. I hate it when they sneak aircraft out on 5L or 14R or when they recover aircraft on 32L or 23R.
-During the MAGTF Demonstration the helicopter rarely fly in front of the crowd. Most of their time is spent to the far right, well past the intersection of CP's four runways. The V-22, when unloading Marines, is the only helicopter type to spend any dedicated time in front of the crowd
-Personally I would love to see the Osprey, Viper, Venom and 53 hover in front of the crowd. They could talk about each type and the missions they perform.
All of the above items allow the crowd to see more, learn more and be inspired more. At minimal cost as well.
The selfish photographer in me would love to see...
- a 4-ship Harrier flyover
- a dissimilar formation of the fixed wing types flying in the MAGTF
- More helicopters in the MAGTF demo (the numbers seen at Miramar for example)
- More military performers - get creative - Cherry Points C-40 working the pattern would make me happy. Anyone remember when Langley's F-15 would beat up the pattern? That's good stuff that the crowd loves.
- Become a yearly show - Oceana isn't what it once was - Cherry Point could easily become the best military air show on the east coast if it wanted to!
You never know when your last chance to see Harriers will be. We know they'll be at the 2024 show. I'm looking forward to it!