Flying Proms Symphonic Air Show 2025

Gates Open 5pm, Concert Begins 7pm.

Experience the grand return of an unparalleled celebration of patriotism, aviation, and entertainment under the stars! Join us for this one-of-a-kind outdoor concert featuring live music, thrilling aerial displays, and dazzling fireworks!

Flying Proms promises an unforgettable fusion of history and family-friendly festivities. Bring your picnic basket and soak in the ambiance as you delight in your favorite patriotic tunes and aviation-themed melodies, while enjoying a selection of wines, beers, sodas and water that are available for purchase.

Elevate your experience with VIP privileges or indulge in the luxury of a private chalet, all while supporting the restoration efforts of the Military Aviation Museum and its educational programs.

At Flying Proms, witness the harmonious collaboration between and rare warbird flight demonstrations. Marvel at graceful aerial maneuvers inspired by historical events as well as iconic aviation and adventure films set to a breathtaking musical performance as dusk descends.

Following the Intermission, the Symphony continues its performance into the night, with patriotic anthems, the armed forces medley and a grand finale that culminates in a spectacular fireworks display, providing a fitting conclusion to an enchanting evening of celebration.

Gates open at 5pm, and the concert begins at 7pm. The general admission seating area extends across one of our grass taxiways, and is the perfect location for a picnic blanket. There are seated VIP options for those who would prefer not to bring their own chairs.

Ticket Pricing at the Event Gate:

Adults (14+) $75

Military/1st Responders $65

Youth (5 to 13) $35

Child (4 and under) Free

WWII Veteran Free

For more information on the event, please call 757.721.7767.

VIP Tickets: - Get access to our VIP viewing area and enjoy a mixture of covered and uncovered seating options, with chairs provided. The VIP area has been selected to provide an excellent view of both the flying, musical performances and fireworks. With a dedicated cash bar, pilot meet & greet, private toilets, light hors d'oeuvres and snacks and non-alcoholic beverages, guests can enjoy the very best of what Flying Proms has to offer. (Please note space is extremely limited.)

Special Announcements!

Our next event: South Pacific Luau and Hangar Dance - Saturday, July 12th:

All proceeds from this fundraising event directly support the Military Aviation Museum and its mission to preserve and share military aviation history. Your contribution helps fund our educational programs and ongoing restoration efforts. The Military Aviation Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Private Chalets: - For the ultimate private experience for your family and friends, purchasing a chalet provides a 10x20ft tent with a private, fenced, viewing area for the show. Also included is access to a non-public toilet. Chalet purchases also include ice, 1-6ft round table, 1-8ft rectangle table, and 10 chairs. The chalet does include lights, but does not have power. Additional chairs and tickets may also be purchased for your chalet. (The total number of available chalets is limited, and they are not available for purchase week-of). You are welcome to bring your company banner or we will include a banner with your logo or family name to be placed on the fence, not blocking any viewing.

Flying Proms 2025 Program Highlights:

Flying Proms features a unique combination of vintage military aircraft accompanied in flight by stirring, patriotic music on the ground. With several important anniversaries to mark this year, the demonstrations will feature special pairings which commemorate key moments in American history.

US Army 250th Anniversary

June 14th, 2025 marks the 250th Birthday of the United States Army, formed by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775. We will be taking the opportunity to celebrate this momentous milestone, with a flight demonstration from the Museum’s own B-25 Mitchell medium bomber. This aircraft is our collection’s standard bearer for Army Aviation, Mitchells having served in every theater during World War II.

The Army was the country’s first National Institution, and has fought to defend our nation throughout its history. In WWII, the Army became America’s largest military branch without question, rapidly expanding from just 189,839 personnel in 1939, to a staggering 8.26 million by 1945. To the oppressed peoples of the world during that conflict, the US Army became their liberators - and wherever the Army fought on the ground in World War II, there were Mitchells from the Army Air Forces overhead.

Welcoming the Museum’s Newest Aircraft

The Museum’s newly-acquired Vultee BT-13 Valiant is another Army veteran. The type played a pivotal role training pilots during World War II, but our specific airframe served at West Point, instructing some of the very men who led Army Air Forces units into combat. The Flying Proms will mark the Valiant’s debut performance with the Museum and, flying alongside our Stearman and Texan, it will celebrate the tremendous effort on the Homefront which assured our ultimate victory overseas.

US Navy and Marine Corps 250th Anniversary

Formed several months after the nation’s Army, the US Navy is also steeped in tradition and marking its 250th Anniversary in 2025. Helping celebrate this major milestone with us, a Curtiss SB2C Helldiver will join our historic Naval aircraft in the skies over the Museum. This Helldiver, one of just three airworthy examples in the world, is based in Texas with the Commemorative Air Force. It is very rare to see such an airplane flying on the East Coast – and this will also be a homecoming of sorts, for the type once served nearby at NAS Oceana!

The Museum’s Wildcat, TBM, and of course our Corsair, will fly alongside the Helldiver – with these aircraft pulling double duty representing the US Marine Corps as well as the Navy, since aviators from both services flew each type in large numbers. It goes without saying that 2025 is also the US Marine Corps’ 250th Anniversary.

80th Anniversary of the end of World War II

Of course the overarching theme of our whole presentation this year is the 80th Anniversary of the end of World War II. Whether marked on VE-Day in May, VJ-Day in August, or with the signing of Imperial Japan’s unconditional surrender in September 1945, the end of the war was a time of both celebration - and reflection.

This juxtaposition echoes poignantly in the program for this year’s Flying Proms – with dynamic flight demonstrations overhead being accompanied by a soulful tribute to those who did not come home. Known as the Missing Man, this special formation sees a lone aircraft rise up from the flight and peal off towards the setting sun in the west. The AT-6 Texans assembled to perform this flight wear a range of markings honoring our different military service branches.

Korean War –75th Anniversary Special Tribute

The Korean War, which began in June 1950, is often referred to as the Forgotten War, being overwhelmed in the public’s consciousness by the wake of World War II. Our nation was unprepared for the communist aggression which almost claimed the entire Korean Peninsula, and it was only through swift Allied action that such a fate was avoided. On this special night, we will recognize those who served in Korea and remember the desperate early days of that war – with flights from the Museum’s own AD-4 Skyraider.

This aircraft is special because it was actually there – on the Deck of the US Navy carrier USS Valley Forge. It flew against Pyongyang in the first Naval strikes of the war, and helped push communist forces back from the Pusan Perimeter all the way to the Yalu River. The aircraft flew and fought through the Inchon landings as MacArthur’s men battled their way ashore. The Virginia Wind Symphony has chosen to pair Korean Folk Tune-inspired music with our aircraft’s own ‘music’ as it soars overhead.

Holocaust Remembrance

In marking the anniversaries of 1945 and celebrating the Allied Victory in WWII, we have a solemn duty to also remember the Holocaust and the horrors which Nazi Germany wrought upon the people of Europe. As the Allied armies marched deeper into Germany, the scale of the Holocaust soon became apparent. Ohrdruf was the first camp liberated by US Forces on April 5, 1945. Surviving prisoners at Dachau, Mauthausen and Buchenwald were among those liberated in the following weeks. American Soldiers were sickened by the state in which they found their fellow humans in these camps, as medical teams worked to help those they could.

In the second half of the evening, once the airplanes have landed, we will pause to remember the Holocaust, the music chosen to help us reflect upon those lost to this genocide.

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Other Programmatic Highlights of the Flying Proms 2025:

Colonel Bogey and the Open Flightline - As is tradition, the Flightline will open up to the public following the conclusion of the first half so that you can get up close to the aircraft and meet the crews! The Virginia Wind Symphony will play the Colonel Bogey March as our staff and volunteers make the flightline ready for you. You are welcome to whistle along to this beloved WWI-era tune which became world famous with the arrival of the 1957 film, The Bridge On the River Kwai.

Recognizing our Servicemembers – In a regular fixture of Flying Proms second half, the Virginia Wind Symphony will perform a medley of the Armed Forces songs to help celebrate our military service personnel, both past and present.

Playing on into the Fireworks! – The Virginia Wind Symphony will treat us to an exciting, patriotic selection of Music as we head into the Fireworks demonstration. This year’s performance will include the famed 1812 Overture - set to the Fireworks, of course

DROP ZONE DINING: Food Trucks at Flying Proms

A popular addition to Flying Proms over the last few years has been some of Virginia Beach’s favorite food trucks!

Do you want to bring your food truck? Contact [email protected] to register!

As a reminder, alcohol cannot be carried in to the show, but Beer and Wine can be purchased on the grounds.

The program is subject to change due to weather or maintenance.

Event Rules

Flying Proms features a combination of musical and aircraft performances, please be aware of the following special rules for this event.

• There is no smoking permitted on the field.

• Please do not touch or climb on vehicles, displays or aircraft.

• No drones, quad-copters or similar machines may be operated on the airport property.

• No segways, hoverboards or similar motorized vehicles are permitted on the field (this does not include mobility assistive devices).

• No pets (only service animals will be permitted on the property during an event).

• Coolers are allowed, but there is no outside alcohol permitted at the show. (Beer , Wine, Soda and Water are available for purchase on site.)

• No tents, umbrellas or sun coverings.

• No weapons may be brought in by the general public, period attire or otherwise.

• No cooking or open flames are permitted.

By attending our events, you understand and agree that the Military Aviation Museum, anyone acting on behalf of the Military Aviation Museum, and the Military Aviation Museum’s licensees, successors, and assigns, shall have the right, where permitted by law, to print, publish, broadcast, distribute, and use in any media now known or hereafter developed, in perpetuity and throughout the World, without limitation, your entry, name, portrait, picture, voice, likeness, image, statements about the event, and biographical information for news, publicity, information, trade, advertising, public relations, and promotional purposes, without any further compensation, notice, review, or consent. By attending an Event at the Military Aviation Museum, you represent and warrant that your entry is an original work of authorship, and does not violate any third party’s proprietary or intellectual property rights. Should you disagree to any of the above, please contact the Military Aviation Museum to process this request.

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