The Pacific Coast Air Museum’s annual air show took place September 26‐27, 2015 at the Charles M. Schulz
– Sonoma County Airport under mostly clear skies and near‐record temperatures and once again “Wings
Over Wine Country” featured a stellar lineup of aerial performers. The highlight of the show was the Cana‐
dian Forces Snowbirds Demonstration Team, but the list of aerial performers also included the US Air
Force’s F‐16 Viper Demonstration Team, the USAF Academy’s Wings of Blue Parachute Team, multiple
aerobatic performers and a large collection of vintage warbirds, many of them locally based.
The air show had been held in August for many years and was often plagued with fog or overcast skies. The
date was moved into September last year and it seems to be working weather‐wise. The location was once
again changed. Last year’s venue, closer to the museum’s grounds, was very cramped and not well laid out.
This year’s show was moved back to the northern end of the airport and was much improved. On Friday
evening, the airshow held a performers’ reception in the historic Redwood Hangar at Sonoma Jet Center. It
featured a buffet dinner, swing music, and a silent auction and provided the public a terrific opportunity to
meet and greet most of the performers in a social setting.
The gates opened at 9AM, with parking, ticketing and security handled very efficiently. Almost all of the
participating aircraft were on static display so visitors could see them up close. Unfortunately, the continu‐
ing effects of the budget sequestration process limited the US military aircraft to a single C‐17 Globemaster
III from March ARB.