‘Putting on a show’: Three-day Moses Lake Airshow brings out aviation fans

MOSES LAKE — “It’s good to be out.”

So said Rhyan Armstrong, as she walked with her children, 5-year-old Khambryn and 1-year-old Addison, in between the airplanes parked on the secondary runway at the Grant County International Airport.

It was a sentiment echoed by many at the Moses Lake Airshow on Friday as the second annual event — first held on Father’s Day weekend in 2019, but canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic — finally came to pass.

“This is great, and they’ve got a good variety of acts,” said Richard Pearce, as he sat and relaxed with friends in the shade of the wing of an Air Force KC-135 tanker, a plane he said he flew 200 combat missions in over Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War before coming to teach at Big Bend Community College.

“Aviation is just in my blood,” Pearce said.

The three-day air show, Thursday through Saturday, was intended as both a family-friendly event and Father’s Day celebration, and featured returning acts like stunt pilot Vicky Benzinger and Tom Larkin in his 500-pound mini-jet, as well as new performers, such as the four-member, the 100% ethanol-powered Vanguard Squadron, stunt pilot Kyle Fowler in his delta-wing Rutan Long-EZ, the U.S. Air Force’s A-10 Demo Team from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, the U.S. Navy’s EA-18G Growler Demo Team from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, the aerobatic team of Todd Rudberg and Stephen Christoper flying as Undaunted Airshows: Orca Flight, stunt pilot Jim Bourke in his 100% composite-made Extra 330SC, the U.S. Army Black Daggers parachute team, and two “heritage” military flights featuring modern Navy and Air Force jets flying in formation with vintage, World War II-era planes.

The air show began with a minute of silence to honor the memory of motorcycle daredevil Alex Harvill, who died Thursday morning while attempting to set a world jump record.

“Everybody is just so thrilled to see each other, and there are so many smiles out here,” said Grant County International Airport Director Rich Mueller at the start of the air show.

“People want to go outside and be in the sun, see other people and watch something fun, maybe get a little sunburnt and then go home at the end of the day,” Mueller added. “That’s what we’re about this year.”

And that’s exactly what brought Armstrong, a Moses Lake native who came back for the summer, as her husband serves active duty in the Air Force, to the airshow on Friday.

“We were going to do some fun stuff, and we saw this was here, so let’s do it,” Armstrong said. “I thought the kids would like it.”

Elsewhere on the runway, 11-year-old Andrew Alvarado — who came to the Moses Lake Airshow all the way from Everett — peers into the cockpit of an Air Force T-38 training aircraft as the pilot explains how the plane works.

“It’s pretty cool,” Alvarado said.

“I fly a U-2, so we use these as companion trainers,” said an Air Force major who gave his name only as “Judge” — his call sign. “It takes a lot of support to fly the U-2, so we can’t always fly those. We use these to sharpen our skills so when we do fly the U-2, we’re completely proficient in what we do.”

Tom Larkin, the pilot of the tiny mini-jet, said he was glad to be back in Moses Lake for this year’s airshow, after a year of being very nearly grounded during the pandemic.

“People are ready to get out, do something family oriented. And it’s good to be a part of that,” said Larkin, a retired Air Force F-15 pilot and instructor. “It’s a beautiful day, and I’m looking forward to putting on a show.”