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

A member of the U.S. Army Special Forces Command’s Black Daggers parachute team trails a giant American flag on a descent during the 2021 Moses Lake Airshow on Friday.
Charles H. Featherstone/Columbia Basin Herald

A U.S. Air Force A-10 jet with a Vietnam-era paint job and a World War II-era P-51 Mustang fly in formation as part of an Air Force heritage flight celebrating the service’s history during the 2021 Moses Lake Airshow.

U.S. Air Force Capt. Sky Lesh holds an inert 30mm round fired by the A-10 Thunderbolt II (nicknamed “The Warthog”). Lesh, along with (from left to right) Tech. Sgt. Brian Pontes, Senior Airman Caleb Spencer and Staff Sgt. Robby Benson, are members of the Air Force’s A-10 Demonstration Team.

A group of spectators at the 2021 Moses Lake Airshow gather under the shade of a U.S. Air Force KC-135 tanker wing to keep out of the sun.

U.S. Air Force U-2 pilot Maj. “Judge” (his call sign) shows 11-year-old Andrew Alvarez from Everett, Washington, how his T-38 trainer works. Judge, who is based out of Beale Air Force Base near Sacramento, said he flies the trainer to keep up on his flying skills because the U-2 spy plane requires a lot of support to fly too frequently.