2024 NAS Oceana Air Show

[n33d4sp33d_85]

Exciting news! The CF-18 Hornet Demo Team now has NAS Oceana on its schedule in place of the cancelled Festival Aérien VOLARIA Airshow!
https://www.canada.ca/en/air-force/serv ... edule.html

[passedgas46]

This is starting to look like the Oceana airshows of the late 2000s and early 2010s.

[Meekashark]

I'm actually excited.

[Douglas Liu]

Hi all
I’m not sure if this is the best place to put this but I’m sure you guys and gals will show me to the right area.

We are planning a trip from Australia (a mate and I) to visit Oceana’s air show, then scoot through the museums one the way to Miramars air show the following weekend. Looking for some advice on itinerary please, and some details around Oceana. Mostly military aircraft nuts close approaching 50 and havin a bucket list that needs completing.

Basic itinerary is fly in Thursday the 19th of September to Washington, and visit both Air and Space museums in DC and Virginia on the 20th Driving from Washington to Oceana on the 21st and hopefully have good weather. Stay overnight somewhere in Virginia Beach or surrounds. Is the Sunday show a repeat of Saturday usually?
Possibly stay half a day at Oceana on the 22nd, then drive through to Dayton (probably staying at a hotel along the way). Two days at the airforce museum at Wright Patterson, then fly to Pima on Wednesday the 25th. Do Pima air museum in Tucson on Thursday, and drive through to San Diego Thursday night into Friday morning. See the Midway aircraft carrier, the possibly the Gillespie field air and space museum too. See Miramar air show on the Saturday, and drive to LA, visiting the Western Museum of Flight in Torrance so we see both YF-23’s

Head off to LAX then the long flight home to Australia.

Does this sound doable (other than we will be tired), and are we missing somewhere or could do with replacing a stop with another?
Thanks in advance

I can only comment on some parts of your itinerary. I live about 25 miles north of Washington DC (further away from Oceana), I have gone to the Oceana show quite a few times in recent years. I would leave my house around 4:00 AM, no traffic whatsoever, get to the gate around 8:15-8:30, before they even let people into the base. Between the two museums in DC area, my favorite is the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles airport, it has a really nice collection of unique aircraft but the USAF museum in Dayton is in a different league in terms of number of aircraft on display. The Air and Space Museum in DC may need timed tickets (free) to go in. You may want to check out their website. Have fun!

[dzirzow]

Strongly suggest not reducing time in Dayton. USAF Museum is huge.


If you want kinda neat hotel for Dayton, I suggest the Bob Hope hotel on Wright Patt. Congress had to pass resolution to make it joint hotel for USAF and open to public. Theyhave reunions and conferences there alot.

One time I spotted a visiting C-17 land. WEnt to check into hotel and had to wait for the C-127 crew to finish checking in at lobby.

You do not go through base security.

https://www.hopehotel.com/

[n33d4sp33d_85]

Latest Addition: RAD Aerosports Jet Waco
https://www.radaerosports.com/

[n33d4sp33d_85]

Returning for the third year in a row are the US Navy Leap Frogs Parachute Team.
https://navyleapfrogs.com/leap-frogs-sh ... -main.html

[n33d4sp33d_85]

Latest Addition: US Navy F-35C Lightning II Demo Team

[n33d4sp33d_85]

https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/vi ... announced/

[sh1200]

First-time poster here - I'm planning my first trip to Oceana to attend the airshow on Saturday. I would really appreciate some advice on viewing aircraft movements and practice prior to the airshow. I plan on arriving on Thursday around midday and was hoping to spend the afternoon and Friday viewing movements, etc. Is this possible around the area? Are there any preferred spotting locations?

I read somewhere on the internet that many aircraft can be viewed from the Virginia Beach oceanfront. This leads me to the question: Is a beachfront hotel worth it for aircraft viewing? Or is it better to go to a more cost-effective hotel near the town center?

I would greatly appreciate any information you can provide me with. Thank you in advance!