The Super Hornet display at dusk is one of the highlights of the NAS Oceana Air Show Beach Blast.
The video in this post shows an F/A-18F Super Hornet from VFA-106 “Gladiators” as it peforms several afterburner passes at dusk, followed by more afterburner passes as the sun has set and it has become even darker.
The impressive show was the highlight of the “Beach Blast” 2018, the traditional evening complement to the yearly NAS Oceana Air Show, that is held at Virginia Beach’s 31st Street as the sun starts to set. Since the retirement of the F-14 Tomcat, it’s a Super Hornet to perform the dramatic flyovers in full afterburner, whose plume becomes more evident in the darkness.
Along with the F/A-18F display, you can see the U.S. Navy’s Leap Frogs team jump onto the beach in front of the Hilton and a final part of the video featuring performers from the NAS Oceana Airshow, including Major Paul “Loco” Lopez and his F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team, and the Navy’s Blue Angels, being introduced by airshow announcer Rob Reider.
Among the others, Zinger Aviation Media’s Youtube channel has done a great job posting footage of the Beach Blast shows since 2006. Here are those you can find online.
The first one is particularly interesting, as it is the very last one with the F-14 (belonging to the VF-31 Tomcatters) back on Sept. 9, 2006:
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While many other airshows in the US and the rest of the world have already been cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the NAS Oceana Air Show scheduled to take place in September 2020 has not yet been cancelled.
The message you can find on the website of the airshow says:
“NAS Oceana is currently considering a range of options regarding the annual air show scheduled for September 19-20. Each of these options take into account the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic, Navy and State of Virginia policies in place, and most importantly the health and safety of the community, our partners, and our Navy personnel. Certainly, the COVID-19 environment presents significant challenges for the planning of events in the future. We will know much more as the situation evolves and will likely be making a decision on the best way forward in the next few weeks. We sincerely appreciate the patience and understanding of our valued fans, partners, and sponsors”
