Internet Modeler : Features : Aviation RSS News Feed

Centennial of Naval Aviation NAS North Island Air Show

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

This year marks the 100th anniversary of naval aviation, and the US Navy has really pulled out the stops to commemorate this historical event. While the Navy held a good celebration for their 50th anniversary and painted quite a few aircraft for their 75th anniversary, the steps taken for this Centennial are nothing short of remarkable, with over two dozen aircraft painted up in historical color schemes. Beginning with a Bell TH-57C Sea Ranger painted up in the colors of naval aircraft from 1916 to an F/A-18F painted in the new Navy Working Uniform, these retro aircraft provide a great visual progression of naval aviation colors and markings over the past 100 years. In addition to these special aircraft, individual units have been authorized to come up with their own way to commemorate the event, and there will undoubtedly be dozens more aircraft finished with colorful Centennial markings.

A celebration is more than just painting aircraft, though, and the Navy has outlined an ambitious event schedule around the United States. The first of these events was the Naval Air Station North Island Kick Off event in early February 2011. No better place could have been chosen to start the year of celebration, as it was on February 17, 1911 that Glenn Curtiss' seaplane was hoisted aboard the USS Pennsylvania in San Diego Bay. From that point on, NAS North Island was known as the official birthplace of naval aviation. The show on February 12th featured many of the special retro aircraft, as well as a Parade of Flight. The latter saw nearly 200 aircraft fly by in a continuous circuit, starting with early Navy aircraft such as a Ryan STM and Naval Aircraft Factory N3N. This parade then continued through to World War Two types and on to modern aircraft until culminating with CVW-9 doing a formation flight over NAS North Island and San Diego with their entire air wing of 35-40 aircraft.

The NAS North Island Centennial Kick Off Event was impressive, and sets the bar high for the other planned events throughout the year. To see what show might be close to your neighborhood, visit the official Centennial website and check the event list. For those who weren't able to get to NAS North Island, the photos here should give a good idea of what the event was like.

For those who would like a printed collection, I have put together a book on the event that provides over 200 detailed photos of all the retro aircraft as well as many other aircraft, including those in the Parade of Flight.