The Commemorative Air Force’s High Sky Wing will host its 35th annual AIRSHO on Saturday, September 12, and Sunday, September 13, at Midland International Air & Space Port in Texas. This year’s event will honor Vietnam War veterans while showcasing aircraft representing the Vietnam era and other chapters of military aviation history. The planned lineup includes an F-4 Phantom II, F-100 Super Sabre, A-1 Skyraider, HU-16 Albatross, P-51 Mustang, F4U Corsair, F4F Wildcat, P-40 Warhawk and B-25 Mitchell. Among the most anticipated participants will be an airworthy F-104 Starfighter operated by Starfighters Space.
The Mach 2-capable aircraft is scheduled to appear in both flying and static displays, highlighting how the Cold War-era interceptor continues to contribute to modern aerospace research and technology development. The Starfighter will be flown by Piercarlo Ciacchi, Starfighters Space’s director of flight operations. Ciacchi has accumulated more than 7,000 flying hours in a wide variety of aircraft and previously flew the F-104 with the Italian Air Force. He was also a pilot with the Frecce Tricolori, Italy’s national aerobatic team.
In 2025, Starfighters Space announced a significant expansion of its operations to Midland International Air & Space Port. The company operates the world’s only commercial fleet of flight-ready F-104 Starfighters and uses the aircraft to support high-speed research, testing, and the development of next-generation aerospace and space technologies.
The company’s arrival in Midland formed part of a broader growth strategy rather than a relocation. Starfighters continues to operate from its established facilities at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it has supported commercial and government testing programs. The addition of a second operational hub provides greater capacity and flexibility while strengthening the nation’s limited infrastructure for high-speed and hypersonic flight testing. Starfighters’ F-104s can serve as platforms for air-launched payloads, pilot training, microgravity research and the testing of hypersonic technologies, missile-defense systems, spaceflight hardware, advanced materials and defense electronics. Their ability to sustain speeds above Mach 2 makes the aircraft valuable as flying testbeds—more than six decades after the Starfighter first entered operational service.
Midland offers extensive airspace and an FAA-licensed commercial spaceport, making it well suited to the company’s planned flight-testing and aerospace activities. Once the home of the Commemorative Air Force, the city is seeking to establish a new role in advanced aerospace development, including the possible creation of infrastructure for hypersonic testing and point-to-point high-speed transportation. Gates will open at 9 a.m. on both days, with flying scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. and conclude at approximately 4 p.m. Additional event information and tickets are available through the official AIRSHO website.
