Something for everyone at Wings Over Camarillo
Camarillo, CA (October 23, 2025) After missing it for several years, I was eager to attend the Wings Over Camarillo Air Show again. One of my favorite West Coast air shows, 2025 marked the 44th year of this event. I had always enjoyed the friendly, local ambience of the show, with a busy flight schedule filled with local pilots.
With more than 100 aircraft to see, and over 50 taking to the air during the day, there was plenty for the 20,000 attendees to enjoy over the weekend of Aug. 16-17 at Camarillo Airport (KCMA) in California.
KCMA happened to be the home of the Southern California chapter of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), so there was no shortage of historic aircraft to see, especially with several aircraft from the Planes of Fame in Chino, California, in attendance. The Pacific Theater warbird formation photo pass, accompanied by a “Wall of Fire” pyro display, was spectacular for attendees and probably unnerving for local residents.
The Ventura County Sheriffs showcased one of their Firehawk helicopters with an impressive water drop demonstration. A notable premiere featured Pivotal conducting a flight demonstration with its unique eight-rotor Helix eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft.
Aaron Fitzgerald rounded out the rotorcraft performances with the Red Bull Bo-105 helicopter, executing maneuvers that were unnatural but impressive nonetheless.
For 2025, the slate of aerobatic performers included John Collver, Judy Phelps, Tony Higa, and local favorite Jason Somes. Judy Phelps brought her Pitts S-2B past show center during the 2025 air show. Judy had flown her very first air show performance here in 2011. Tony Higa streaked through the blue skies in his Pitts S-1S. In 1996, he had participated in the 18th World Unlimited Aerobatics Championship for Japan as the country’s first-ever competitor. He had been performing in air shows since 2016.
Jason Somes taxied out to perform for the hometown crowd in his Polish-built MiG-17F. Jason was type-rated in 17 different aircraft, many of them warbirds.
It was always a treat to see a performer for the first time or with a revamp, like Sammy Mason, who performed that year with a classic Stearman. Proving that size isn’t everything, Torrey Ward performed in his diminutive Subsonex Microjet. Garret Willat was on hand for a quiet routine in his Grob G-103 sailplane.
Besides Jason Somes and his popular MiG-17, there was also The Pink Jet—a Czech L-39 Albatros with a very distinctive pink livery, on a mission to raise breast cancer awareness and funds through aviation.
One could always count on a strong kitplane presence at Camarillo, with fly-bys of general aviation aircraft, including the Dawn Patrol RV Formation Team with seven RVs.
The last flight performance was by the Condor Squadron, a group of T-6 Texan pilots who performed a Missing Man tribute to veterans. A good variety of aircraft were on static display, with the aforementioned warbirds intermingled with modern military aircraft, and the ramp was thick with general aviation, both modern and classic.
Two noteworthy static displays were the Parker AlienAir, an experimental VTOL aircraft powered by a Toyota engine, and an Ampaire Cessna Skymaster hybrid testbed, with piston power in the rear and an electric motor up front. The Parker AlienAir was a unique, Burt Rutan-designed experimental VTOL aircraft created by Parker Aerospace. The rear ducted fans pivoted for vertical thrust, and a vertical fan was enclosed forward of the cockpit. Completed in 2007, it could taxi and perform a brief hover of a few inches at the time. What appeared to be a Cessna 337G Super Skymaster was actually a hybrid, with an electric forward motor and a battery in its belly pod. Flight operations for Ampaire’s experimental aircraft took place at Camarillo.
The weekend air show not only featured skydivers and aerial demonstrations but also included science, technology, engineering, and math exhibits, as well as 200 cars of all types on display on the tarmac.
A car parade was part of the festivities at Wings Over Camarillo. That year’s show honored several community organizations and nonprofits. Yes, 2025 was another enjoyable show put on by the organizer, the Camarillo Wings Association. Since 2010, CWA had donated more than $750,000 to local organizations and nonprofits, promoting local aviation and youth STEM activities.
Next year’s show was slated for Aug. 15-16, 2026. For more information: www.WingsOverCamarillo.com
