The Aviation Magazine No. 54 January-February 2018 | Page 68
T he 37th annual California International Airshow took place at Salinas Municipal
Airport on September 30 and October 1, 2017. This year’s show featured the U.S.
Air Force F‐22 Raptor as the headlining act along with other performers including
the Canadian CT‐142 Dash known as “Gonzo.”
Gates opened at 9:00 am and attendees were able to visit the different static air‐
craft and tents on display. Due to the hurricane relief efforts on the East Coast,
many of the aircraft that were planned to be on static display including a C‐17
Globemaster III and C‐5 Galaxy could not make it to the show. This resulted in a
lot of empty space on the static ramp compared to previous shows held.
Flying activities officially kicked of at noon with the opening ceremonies featuring the National Anthem. Once
the ceremonies finished, air show performers took to the sky. There was a good amount of aerobatic acts
that participated including Sean D Tucker in his Oracle Challenger III who flew on Saturday only, Vicky
Benzing in her red Boeing Stearman, Bill Stein in his specially painted Edge 540, and Kent Pietsch in his Jelly
Belly Interstate Cadet who performed a comedy routine, truck top landing, and dead stick landing with the
propeller shut off.
The show featured a nice variety of warbirds in the flying lineup. Gregory “Wired” Colyer performed a solo
routine in his Lockheed T‐33 Shooting Star known as “Ace Maker II.” There were also WWII flights that in‐
cluded a European Theatre featuring seven North American P‐51 Mustangs and a Pacific Theatre which fea‐
tured the rare Lockheed PV‐2 Harpoon, Nakajima B5N Kate replica, and two North American T‐6 Texans.
A few rare military flybys also pleased the crowd. Coming from McClellan Airfield in Sacramento was the U.S.
Coast Guard C‐27J Spartan which flew a couple passes before returning to home base. Something more spe‐
cial that took to the skies was the Canadian Forces CT‐142 Dash known as “Gonzo,” which put
on a very rare aerial performance in the United States with multiple passes.