NO(^46) THE MAGAZINE 03 47
SCANDINAVIAN
AVIATION MAGAZINE
Cherry Point Air show 2016
The United States Marine Corps hosted the 2016
MCAS Cherry Point Air Show on April 29, 30 and
May 1 this year to celebrate seventy-five years at
the air station. This also coincided with the 75th
anniversary of 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing and the
decommissioning ceremony of VMAQT-1, one of
the last EA-6B Prowler squadrons in service with
the USMC.
A short ceremony for the latter was held at the
evening air show on 29 April. This included a
three-ship fly past in fading light to mark the
occasion, a fitting end as the sun went down.
The main air show event at the weekend was very
well attended considering the distance the public
had to travel to this off-the-beaten-track air base.
There were plenty of grandstands and bleacher
seats available for an extra fee and these seemed
to be very popular, proving that European air
shows are not the only ones to benefit from this
marketing idea. Unlike some European events
though, there was also enough space on the
crowd line to enable even the most hardened
enthusiast to gain access to the flight line for
excellent photographic opportunities.
For the early-riser, the static line-up was
extremely varied, very interesting and barrier free,
thus enabling unencumbered photos of the vast
majority of Marine Corps aviation equipment.
The base aircraft that were not part of the show
line-up were also easy to photograph by walking
along the fence by the side of the public car park,
a bonus for the hard-pressed UK enthusiast.
Where else can we see the remains of our ex-
Harrier fleet?!
Enough of the politics and on with the show
description...........As stated, the static park
contained the USMCs finest in the form of CH-
53s, AH-1s, UH-1s, CV-22s and even a brightly
coloured F/A-18C CAG bird from VMFA-312.
The Cobras and Hueys were the latest variants
of this long line of helicopters, sporting all kinds
of modern lumps, bumps and engine exhaust
shapes.