Uploaded October 2022 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
After six years, the Smoky Mountain Airshow returned in 2022 to the Mcghee Tyson International Airport in Alcoa, TN. This year's show featured a short but great lineup including Greg Koontz, Matt Younkin, the Air Force's A10 Warthog, Aeroshell aerobatics, and more with the US Navy's famous Blue Angels headlining as the grand finale. This was my first time seeing them since they replaced their F/A-18C Hornets with F/A-18E Super Hornets, but honestly from the ground it makes no difference in the show. I attended the first day of the show without my camera and had a great time just watching the planes despite low cloud cover keeping all the action close to the ground. I returned at the end of the show on the second day to see the Blues again, this time bringing my camera as the cloud cover had dissipated. This second performance turned out be a little unusual - the "Fat Albert" C-130J was a no-show and Angel number 4 dropped out of formation and landed halfway through the show, leaving only five planes in the air for the final acts. Still, the extremely skilled pilots of the Blue Angels put on an amazing show as always and I can't wait for their next visit to the skies of East Tennessee.
After six years, the Smoky Mountain Airshow returned in 2022 to the Mcghee Tyson International Airport in Alcoa, TN. This year's show featured a short but great lineup including Greg Koontz, Matt Younkin, the Air Force's A10 Warthog, Aeroshell aerobatics, and more with the US Navy's famous Blue Angels headlining as the grand finale. This was my first time seeing them since they replaced their F/A-18C Hornets with F/A-18E Super Hornets, but honestly from the ground it makes no difference in the show. I attended the first day of the show without my camera and had a great time just watching the planes despite low cloud cover keeping all the action close to the ground. I returned at the end of the show on the second day to see the Blues again, this time bringing my camera as the cloud cover had dissipated. This second performance turned out be a little unusual - the "Fat Albert" C-130J was a no-show and Angel number 4 dropped out of formation and landed halfway through the show, leaving only five planes in the air for the final acts. Still, the extremely skilled pilots of the Blue Angels put on an amazing show as always and I can't wait for their next visit to the skies of East Tennessee.
