RIMPAC Maritime Patrol Aircraft Display

Maritime patrol aircraft participating in RIMPAC 2026 were on display this morning at Marine Corps Air Field Kāne‘ohe Bay. A P-8A Poseidon from the US Navy's VP-40 "Fighting Marlins" and a Kawasaki P-1 from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's 5 Kokutai were on display. Commanders from the US Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Republic of Korea Navy were also on hand at the event. There were also P-8As from the US Navy's VP-4 and RAAF's 11 Squadron departing the base for sorties, as a well as an RCAF CP-140 Aurora performing touch and go landings.

Here is a link to our YouTube video of the event.

USS Theodore Roosevelt Ship Visit

We were invited to the first series of ship visits that included the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), here is our YouTube video.

2025 Blues On The Bay

Another successful Blues on the Bay Airshow hosted by Marine Corps Base Hawaiʻi at Kāneʻohe Bay, wrapped up this past weekend. For three days, the United States Navy/Marine display team Blue Angels were the headliners of the festivities. Other notable performers were the U.S. Air Force's F-22 Raptor Demo Team, KC-135 Demo Team, a B-52 Demo, U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Scenario, a Combat Search and Rescue demo by resident Squadrons, and many more! 

US Navy's 169561 Scrapped At MCAS Kāneʻohe Bay

169561 (c/n 66094, l/n 8026), the US Navy P-8A Poseidon that had the runway excursion at NGF in November 2023, was scrapped this week on the NGF ramp. The damage to the P-8A was deemed to be irreparable, and too costly, with equipment and airframe exposed to the bay's saltwater.

A time-lapse video is on the Fl360Aero Instagram page.

US Navy's 160770 PlaneTags

When MotoArt came down to the Kalaeloa Airport, the second former Naval Air Museum at Barbers Point aircraft they dismantled, was the former US Navy Lockheed P-3C Orion, BuNo 160770 (msn 285A-5679). MotoArt released the PlaneTags for 160770 today.

160770's history is noted in this blog piece on the PlaneTags website.

USS Carl Vinson Visit

HNL RareBirds™ was invited to go on an embark tour of the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) today. As part of RIMPAC 2024, the Vinson is the lead aircraft carrier for this maritime exercise. The ship left port on 11 July, and began flight operations the next day, and has been running flight ops since. I was part of a five-person media group that included a reporter from Naval News, a pair of reporters from France, and a local independent writer.

For our embark tour, we were taken to Marine Corps Air Station at Kāneʻohe Bay (NGF), where we would ride on a CMV-22B from the VRM-30 "Titans". After a meeting and a safety briefing, we donned our aviators life preserver, foam earplugs, and cranial helmet, then proceeded to walk out to the ramp to our awaiting Osprey, Bu No 169454 (msn D2020, f/n 24). Once seated and strapped in, it was a short taxi to Runway 4, and a quick takeoff as RUDY24. Our flight out to CVN-70 was listed at 45 minutes, with a routing that turned left to cross the Ko‘olau Mountains, over metro Honolulu, and somewhere to the south.

Once aboard the USS Carl Vinson, we had lunch, then a quick briefing with the ship's PAO, LCMDR Devin Arneson and her team. Our first stop was the flight deck. Before going out, we all had to put on a safety vest, and cranial. There were FA-18Es, FA-18Fs, F-35s, and EA-18Gs being launched off of the two side catapults. Once the launches were completed, the deck was readied for recoveries as other jets were returning from their sorties. The closest we were to the to the launches and recoveries was about 15 yards.

After the flight deck, it was an interview session with Admiral Michael Wosje, Commander of Carrier Strike Group 1; and Captain Matthew Thomas, Commanding Officer of the USS Carl Vinson. We also got to see the flight ops room, the navigation room, and the observation deck to view more flight ops, but from a hight point-of-view. We also got a tour of the ship's medical section. After a short break, we were treated to a second tour of the flight deck, which had launches off one of the forward catapults, and recoveries on the aft deck.

The last part of the tour was the hangar deck, where there were some aircraft undergoing maintenance, and some stored to save flight deck space. It was amazing to see the amount of aircraft parked on this deck, and such a confined space.

When it was time to leave to return to K-Bay, we all got ready with our life preservers and cranials, and waited for our CMV-22B. RUDY24 returned to take us back to shore. We boarded the tilt-rotor, strapped in, and departed the Vinson in less than ten minutes. Our 45-minute flight took us back over Honolulu, the Koʻolau Range, and Kāneʻohe Bay, before landing on NGF's Runway 4. A short taxi to the Air Terminal ramp concluded as dusk began to fall.

We would like to extend a big māhalo to the people at RIMPAC Media for the invite of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Thank you for your service!

Sentry Aloha 24-01

The Hawai‘i Air National Guard's 199th Fighter Squadron / 154th Wing is hosting Sentry Aloha 24-01. The two-week one exercise will also include F-35C Lightning IIs, FA-18 Super Hornets, and EA-18G Growlers from the US Navy's VX-9, as wells an E-7A Wedgetail from the RAAF.

US Navy's 169561 Runway Excursion At NGF

A US Navy P-8A Poseidon overran the runway at Marine Corps Air Field Kāneʻohe Bay. 169561 (c/n 66094, l/n 8026), assigned to VP-4 "Skinny Dragons", was attempting to land on NGF's Runway 22 in rain and winds, when the runway excursion occurred. The P-8A ended up in Kāneʻohe Bay, just off the departure end of Runway 22, and all nine crew members aboard were able to egress safely.

The VP-4, based at NAS Whidbey Island, Oak Harbor, WA, has a rotating detachment of P-8As assigned to NGF.

The US Navy, and other government agencies are investigating the accident.

Continuing Hawaii News Now coverage.

The above photo was taken in June 2022.

03 Dec 2023 UPDATE

The US Navy floated 169561 out of Kāneʻohe Bay, and is now on land at Marine Corps Air Field Kāneʻohe Bay, awaiting evaluation and repairs to fly it back to the mainland for major repairs.

Hawaii News Now coverage.

US Navy's 169737 And 168917

Two Boeing FA-18E Super Hornets from the US Navy's VFA-192 "Golden Dragons" made a stop at HNL, and parked on the ‘Ohana by Hawaiian ramp for an overnight stop. BuNo 169737 (NE 301) and BuNo 168917 (NE 311) were the fighters to make tonight's stopover.

US Navy's 159116

Our July edition of "HNL RareBirds Classic" features the United States Navy's C-9B SkyTrain II (the military version of a DC-9-32CF), Bureau Number 159116 (c/n 47580, l/n 704), in a photo from January 2005, as it's seen above on Taxiway RT, with markings for VR-61 "Islanders" (based at NAS Whidbey Island, Oak Harbor, WA) and named "City of Seattle".

Not much is known about the history of this C-9B, other than it was delivered to the US Navy in September 1973. In the late 1980s, it was assigned to the VR-57 "Conquistadors", and was named both the "City of Long Beach" and the "City of Carlsbad". In the mid-2000s, it was assigned to the VR-61, and flew with the "Islanders" until it was retired in June 2012. It now sits in storage at the AMARG (Davis-Monthan AFB) in Tucson, AZ.

MV-22

An MV-22 Osprey on board the USS America, Pearl Harbor RIMPAC tour.

Aloha ʻOe Skinny Dragons

MCAF Kāne‘ohe Bayʻs Patrol Squadron 4 (VP-4) "Skinny Dragons" P-3C Orions have begun their "Aloha Deployment". Upon return form their deployment, they will transition to the P-8A Poseidon, and relocate to NAS Whidbey Island, WA. The "Skinny Dragons" are the first of three P-3C squadrons based at MCAF Kāne‘ohe Bay to make the transition and the move, and ends a 50-year run being based on O‘ahu. US Navy anti-submarine aircraft were once based at the now-closed NAS Barbers Point (now the Kalaeloa Airport). 

Further details in this Navy.mil article.

2015 Kāne‘ohe Bay Air Show

This year, Kāne‘ohe Bay Marine Corps Station once again welcomes the Blue Angels in the 2015 Kāne‘ohe Bay Air Show this weekend. On display where various pieces of equipment from all branches of the military. Below are some of the highlights taken on Saturday.

The Marines opened up the show by demonstrating their ground assault, heavy lift and parachuting capabilities in the morning.

One of the two Pacific Air Forces Demonstration team F-16CJ posing infront of a wall of fire courtesy of the Marines grand finale.

 Next up was Hawaii's own local talents. Alan Miller demonstrated what 65hp is capable of in his Areonca Champ. Below, Director of the Pacific Aviation Museum, Hank Bruckner waves at the crowd after performing a stunning routine in his CAP-10.

               
                     The United States Coast Guard was represented by their HC-130 and HH-65C.

United States Navy Seals Leap Frogs finally got a window in the weather to showcase their low altitude parachuting skills.

                                       
                                            Another local, Bruce Mayes in his SJN Texan.

The Pacific Air Forces Demonstration team out of Misawa AFB, Japan showed off the high performance capability of the F-16.

Multiple championship title holder for the U.S. National Aerobatic Championship and World Freestyle championship, Rob Holland defied gravity with his custom all carbon fiber MXS-RH.

Jacquie B's performance in her new Extra 300 was cut short due to reduced cloud ceilings but was inspiring non the less.

                                    
                                         Fat Albert hugging the ground after its takeoff roll.

                                                              
                                                                   I spy hula girl :)

A little after scheduled start time, the Blue Angels displayed their precision flying the "Low Show".

After flying all the way from Guam and holding for the Blue Angels to complete their routine for 2 hours, a B-52 makes a high speed, low pass and vanished into the clouds only to return to Guam.

 

And lastly, a sneaky TMB Avenger flown by Brad Deckert came out to play as the show wrapped up in the early evening!