SIZE MATTERS: PACIFIC AIRSHOW BRINGS THE BIG BOYS TO TOWN
Let's not pretend otherwise: size matters. And Pacific Airshow is bringing some of the biggest there is, this October. Today's second performer announcement for 2026 confirms five of the largest, heaviest and downright loudest aircraft on the planet, all set to take over the skies in Surf City this October 2-4, plus the return of four crowd favorites.
The first announcement brought the fast movers. This one brings muscle. When these five show up, the beach gets smaller.
USMC V-22 OSPREY DEMO - Taking off like a helicopter before swinging its giant rotors forward and leaving like an airplane, all a few hundred feet off the sand.
USAF KC-135 STRATOTANKER - The flying gas station that has kept America's air power in the fight for more than 60 years, coming in low and slow over Huntington Beach.
USAF C-17 GLOBEMASTER III - 585,000 pounds of airlifter that somehow floats along the shoreline like it weighs nothing.
RAF C-17 GLOBEMASTER III - One C-17 wasn't enough, so the Royal Air Force is flying its own across the Atlantic to join the party.
B-25 MITCHELL, LYON AIR MUSEUM - The original big boy, twin radial engines you can feel in your chest, flying in from just down the road.
And the ones we're bringing back: Big is only half of it. Four favorites are returning to the Huntington Beach shoreline:
TBM AVENGER, GREG COLYER - A WWII torpedo bomber, hauled around the sky by one of the most respected warbird pilots in the business.
BO-105, AARON FITZGERALD - The Red Bull helicopter that performs backflips in the air… things helicopters are not supposed to do.
RED BULL SKYDIVE TEAM - Freefall over the Pacific, canopies over the pier, feet on the sand.
DAWN PATROL AIRSHOWS - Back by popular demand after stealing the show last year.
Kevin Elliott, CEO and Director of Pacific Airshow, said:
"In this business, size matters. These are the largest machines in the sky, flown by the best crews in the world, right off the sand at Huntington Beach. There's no fence, no runway between you and them. Just a beach towel and 585,000 pounds of C-17 filling your entire field of view."
"Having the Royal Air Force bring their own C-17 across the Atlantic tells you everything about what this event has become. Pacific Airshow is where the world's heavy hitters come to show off, and in October, Huntington Beach is the only place to see them do it."
"We've also brought back four acts our fans made very clear they wanted to see again. Greg, Aaron, the Red Bull Skydive Team and Dawn Patrol are all part of what makes this show what it is."
Pacific Airshow returns to Huntington Beach October 2-4, 2026.
