The F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team has a new pilot at the controls for 2026 — and the Pacific Northwest gets one of the first looks. Maj. Sean Loughlin, callsign “RAMBO,” takes over as pilot and commander of the Air Force’s premier single-engine stealth demo, with his first major domestic showcase set for the Oregon International Air Show in Hillsboro, May 15–17, 2026.
Loughlin flies with the 421st Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Gen. Adrian Spain, commander of Air Combat Command, certified him on February 27 during the ACC Heritage Flight Training Course at Davis-Monthan AFB — the official announcement came March 2. He steps into a role vacated by Maj. Melanie “Mach” Kluesner, whose 2024–2025 run drew widespread praise across the circuit, capped by a final documented performance at the Dubai Airshow in November 2025.
From Safety Observer to Demo Pilot
Loughlin knows this team well. He previously served as a safety observer for the demonstration team — a role that, by his own account, directly motivated him to pursue the commander seat. His logbook shows over 1,200 flight hours across 11 years, spanning the T-6 Texan, T-1A Jayhawk, T-38C Talon, F-15E Strike Eagle, A-10C Thunderbolt II, and the F-35A Lightning II. He grew up in Massachusetts, making weekend trips to Hyannis Airport with his late grandmother — a detail he carries openly into the recruiting mission at every show.
“My No. 1 goal is to take care of the people on this team. My No. 2 goal is to take care of the equipment on this team. And my No. 3 goal is to make sure that the F-35A Demonstration Team is a highly respected and highly performing cohesive team.” — Maj. Sean “RAMBO” Loughlin
He commands a traveling team of 11 maintainers and support personnel. That includes safety observer Capt. Austin McDaniel and crew chiefs Senior Airman Aidan Howard and Senior Airman Orrin Hammontree.
Already International — FIDAE and the Santiago Flyover
The season was rolling long before Hillsboro. The team opened domestically at NAS Lemoore in late March, then stopped at Laughlin AFB’s Fiesta of Flight before heading south — all the way to South America — for FIDAE 2026, the Feria Internacional del Aire y del Espacio in Santiago, Chile. On April 11, Capt. McDaniel flew a formation with two Fuerza Aérea de Chile F-16s and a KC-135, a direct demonstration of the team’s interoperability mission alongside allied air forces. A stop at the Legacy of Liberty at Holloman AFB followed before the team pointed northwest toward Oregon.
What Hillsboro Is Putting Up — A Strong Lineup
The Oregon International Air Show runs Friday, May 15 through Sunday, May 17 at Hillsboro Airport (HIO). Gates open at 6 p.m. Friday for the signature KABOOM night event — flying, fireworks, music, and an OpenSky Drones display. Saturday and Sunday gates open at 9 a.m., with the flying program kicking off around 12:30 p.m.
The military flight line is legitimately stacked. Alongside Loughlin’s F-35A demo, the USMC F-35B Lightning II Demonstration Team — VMFAT-502, out of MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina — will perform, making this a rare dual-variant F-35 show day. The Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing contributes F-15 Eagle and F-15EX Eagle II flybys. The USAF Heritage Flight pairs the F-35A with a yet-to-be-confirmed WWII warbird — last year’s Hillsboro Heritage Flight featured an F-35A alongside a P-38 Lightning. The USAFA Wings of Blue parachute team rounds out the military presence.
Civilian performers include Kyle Fowler in a Long-EZ, Anthony Oshinuga in a Pitts S-1S, Bob Carlton’s FoxJet Sailplane, Renny Price in a Sukhoi Su-29, and Melissa Burns in an Edge 540. The show carries a deliberate America 250 theme throughout.
Worth noting: this marks the full F-35A demo’s return to Hillsboro as a headliner after 2024, when the show featured only F-35A two-ship flybys rather than a complete demonstration sequence. Kluesner’s team reclaimed the top slot in 2025. Loughlin inherits that billing in 2026.
What’s Next After Hillsboro
After Oregon, the team heads to the Selfridge ANGB Open House in Harrison Township, Michigan, May 30–31, then the Columbus Airshow at Rickenbacker International, June 19–21. One slot dropped off the spring schedule — the previously listed Westmoreland County Airshow in Latrobe, Pennsylvania (May 23–24) has been cancelled per ICAS listings.
Tickets for the Oregon International Air Show are available at oregonairshow.com.
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