VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Military Aviation Museum in the Pungo area, known for its collection of vintage WWII planes, has canceled its largest fundraiser of the year: the "Warbirds Over the Beach" airshow, initially scheduled for this weekend.
Keegan Chetwynd, Director of the Military Aviation Museum, described the decision to cancel the airshow as a difficult one. He noted that the event predates the museum itself and can draw in up to 7,000 attendees.
"We didn’t want to provide a bait and switch to everyone," Chetwynd said.
Chetwynd emphasized the importance of safety, saying, “Every once in a while, you can just feel that you’re getting yourself into a rush, and that’s when you have to stop, take the safety mindset, value these aircraft as artifacts, as pieces of history, and just say we’re not ready to debut this aircraft to the public.”
The aircraft Chetwynd is talking about is the museum's A6M Zero, the iconic Japanese fighter from WWII, which has been under restoration in Seattle for the past 10 years.
Chetwynd explained that while the plane has completed 25 hours of flight testing, it will not be ready in time for the airshow.
"Everyone can feel that it’s almost going to happen, so everybody bought tickets to the show expecting to see it here," he said. "It just isn’t going to make it to Virginia Beach in time."
Despite the cancellation, a "Living History" segment of the event will still take place this weekend. However, he acknowledged that not delivering the airshow is prompting the museum to issue refunds to spectators.
"There is a financial reality to the difficulty we created by not having the airshow because that money is important for infusion into education programs and things like that," Chetwynd added.
He mentioned that despite the cancellation, the museum has already received donations to help cushion the impact, and he remains hopeful that other events later in the year will help recoup costs. This includes Planes, Trains, and Santa and a new traveling piece known as the Longest Yarn, one of four locations the exhibit is being displayed in North America. The exhibit will feature an 80-meter tapestry crocheted by hundreds of volunteers, commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
"I know there are folks out there that are bummed out, as we are too, but I know that will allow us to come back and deliver an even better airshow experience next year," Chetwynd said.
The museum will still offer an experience this weekend, and those interested in donating or volunteering can find more information here.
