Last year, the Class of 2025 watched their caps fly with no Thunderbirds overhead. This year is different. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds are confirmed to fly the 2026 Air Force Academy graduation ceremony at Falcon Stadium on Thursday, May 28 — and the day before, the public gets a free preview.
Practice Flight — May 27, Free to Watch
The Thunderbirds will fly a full public practice flight on Wednesday, May 27, from 12:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. over the Colorado Springs Front Range. No tickets. No wristbands. No reservation required. The FOX21 Storm Team is forecasting a high of 70°F with a 0% chance of precipitation — about as clean a Colorado afternoon as you can get in late May.
USAFA recommends three public vantage points: the Air Force Academy Airfield Overlook — though it closes during Thursday’s graduation ceremony — and parking lots along Interquest Parkway and North Gate Boulevard. Don’t pull over on I-25 or adjacent highway shoulders. Colorado State Patrol enforces that during flights. Hotel Polaris, situated just outside Falcon Stadium, is also advertising prime viewing with on-site dining for anyone who wants a seat and a meal with the show.
Graduation Day — May 28 at Falcon Stadium
Gates open at 6:00 a.m. The ceremony begins at 9:00 a.m. The Thunderbirds are slotted to kick off their demonstration at approximately 11:25 a.m. — timed, as tradition demands, to the Class of 2026’s cap toss — with the full show window running through 11:55 a.m. As of publication, the 2026 commencement speaker has not been announced.
Why This Year Feels Different
The 2025 flyover was cancelled. Low cloud cover, inclement weather — and just like that, the Thunderbirds didn’t fly. It was only the second known cancellation in the modern era, dating back to 2003 — pre-2003 records are not comprehensive. The first was 2013, when budget sequestration grounded the entire Thunderbirds schedule nationwide. Two cancellations in roughly two decades, against a tradition that stretches back to 1968 and an unbroken modern run dating to 2003. The Class of 2025 did get their practice flight — it just turned out to be the last the region saw of the team that season. The Class of 2026 is on track for both days.
The Aircraft and the Team
The Thunderbirds fly the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon — Block 52, powered by the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engine. The Block 52 adds approximately 3,600 lbf of thrust over earlier variants. The aircraft have been modified to swap out the 20mm M61 Vulcan cannon and ammunition drum for a smoke-generating system — all of that work done at Hill AFB in Utah — and they can be returned to operational squadrons with no major structural work required.
Leading the six-ship for 2026–2027 is Lt. Col. Alexander “Knight” Prevendar, Thunderbird 1 and team commander. Prevendar is a Command Pilot with over 2,900 hours in the F-16, T-38, and T-6. He was confirmed in the role in November 2025 after serving as Chief, Commander’s Action Group at Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central), Shaw AFB, South Carolina. Joining him in the officer slots announced for 2026–2027: Thunderbird 8 Maj. Samuel “RaZZ” Larson, Thunderbird 9 Maj. Megan “CASTRO” Berberich, Thunderbird 11 Capt. Susan “Fuego” McLeod, and Thunderbird 12 Capt. Hannah Durbin.
One more thing working in the team’s favor: Netflix dropped a full-length Thunderbirds documentary on May 23 — five days before graduation — which is likely to push public interest in the May 27 practice flight well above typical years.
What’s Next on the Schedule
The USAFA graduation is the Thunderbirds’ first single-day military performance of the summer stretch, coming off back-to-back civilian shows at Miami Beach on May 23–24. After Colorado Springs, the team heads east — Ocean City, Maryland on June 13–14, then Niagara Falls ARS, New York on June 20–21.
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