Air Show History

The history of NAS Jacksonville Air Show

By Ron Williamson
Base Historian

Air shows have been a large part of the aviation history of Jacksonville and for the Navy. Probably the first display from the station site was in 1918, when JN4 Jenny biplanes and Curtiss Hydroaeroplanes, based at the station with the Earl Dodge aviation training camp, flew over Jacksonville to celebrate the end of World War I.
 

The first air show held on the site was actually during the early 1930’s, while under the control of the Florida National Guard.  The highlight of the show was an aircraft loop, one that shocked the crowd!  The first Navy show was held on the occasion of the station’s fifth anniversary on Oct. 15, 1945.  World War II had just ended and the station threw open the gates so the citizens of Jacksonville could see the aircraft that helped win the war.
 

Vice Adm. Marc Mitscher was the principle speaker at the ceremonies for the fifth anniversary and special invited guest for the air show.  This was the only show held at the station in which the Blue Angels would not perform, as they had not yet been formed.
 

However, Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jax) remains one of only three locations where the Blue Angels have flown shows in every type of aircraft the team has used.  Air shows were held at the station with regularity until 1973.  After that year, air shows for the Navy shifted to NAS Cecil Field which remained the main Jacksonville location until NAS Jax’s 50^th Anniversary in 1990.  From 1990 to 1997, air shows alternated between NAS Jax and NAS Cecil Field.  With the closure of NAS Cecil Field in 1999, NAS Jax held three consecutive air shows from 1998-2000.

In 2001, Jacksonville Beach held their first air show and now alternates every other year with NAS Jacksonville to host the annual event.
 

Below is a chronology of air shows held at NAS Jax since the installation was commissioned in 1940.

  

The air show in 1945 saw Vice Adm. Marc Mitscher as the special VIP guest. Seven other air shows have since been dedicated to special VIP’s. On Oct. 15, 1960, the second wife of Adm. John Towers was in attendance when he was honored, as the airfield was dedicated after her late husband for his major contributions to naval aviation.
 
   The station’s 25^th Silver Anniversary Air Show was dedicated to Vice Adm. Robert Goldthwaite who was in charge of aviation training at NAS Jax from 1941-1943 and later served as commander, Fleet Air Jacksonville from 1962-65. On Oct. 15, 1990 the air show was dedicated to local Congressman Charles Bennett, and Oct. 16, 1990, to Alexander Breast, whose firm in 1943 built a large number of the buildings at the station.
 
Roy “Butch” Voris, captain (retired) was invited as the VIP guest for the Oct. 26-27, 1996 air show. Voris was honored for his efforts in forming the original “Flight Exhibition Team” as well as being the first team leader of the “Blue Angels” named while based at NAS Jax in 1946.
 
   On Nov. 2, 2000, Voris was again the special invited VIP guest. During his visit, the installation’s air terminal was dedicated with his name. He continued to be a VIP guest for the 2002 and 2004 air shows. Voris passed away in 2005 and he will always be remembered as “Boss One.”
 
   In 2006, Cmdr. Raleigh “Dusty” Rhodes (retired) was the featured VIP guest. Rhodes was the third team leader of the Blue Angels while the team was based at NAS Jax. He lead the team’s move to NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, in October 1948. Additionally, not only was the Blue Angels patch used today designed by Rhodes, but he was also the flight leader that transitioned the team into the jet age.
  
   In 2008 and 2010, Cmdr. Al Taddeo (retired) was the special VIP guest. Taddeo, the last surviving pilot of the original Blue Angels team, flew the original number three plane when the team flew F6F “Hellcats.” Taddeo had not returned to NAS Jax since being stationed here as a squadron commander in Fighter Squadron 43 (VF-43) in 1954. 
 
   The 2011 NAS Jax Air Show celebrated “The Centennial of Naval Aviation.” Once again, Taddeo and his wife Joan were the air show VIP guests for this special anniversary commemorating 100 years of naval aviation excellence at NAS Jax.

   The scheduled 2013 Air Show was cancelled due to government sequestration efforts. The Blue Angels announced their season would terminate early with their last air show at NAS Key West, March 24, 2013. The NAS Jax scheduled 2013 October air show was then rescheduled for 2014.   

   Although NAS Jax celebrated their 75^th Golden Anniversary in 2015, it was not possible to have an air show due to a massive $51.9M runway renovation project. The runway was officially re-opened June 27, 2016 and air shows were once again scheduled starting in 2017.
 
The show held Nov. 4-5, 2017, was viewed by approximately 300,000 attendees aboard the station.
 
   In 2018, approximately 300,000 people attended the NAS Jax Air Show featuring the Blue Angels.

Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions, all air shows were cancelled in 2019, 2020 and 2021. This did not stop the Blue Angels from continuing their training. A special practice session was held at NAS Jax, April 7-9, 2021, allowing the pilots to maintain require flight proficiencies.
 
   In 2022, all attendance records were broken with more than 350,000 people attending the air show, Oct. 22-23.
 
 In 2024, attendance records were broken with approximately 450,000 people attended the NAS Jax Air Show featuring the Blue Angels, and the Air Force F-35 Demonstration Squadron.