All-Women Oregon Air Show Takes Off, From Pilots To Announcers

HILLSBORO, OR — You may not be able to tell from the ground, but every plane that you see flying over Hillsboro Airport this weekend as part of the Oregon International Air Show will have one big thing in common: Its pilot and crew will all be women.

"She Flies With Her Own Wings" is the show's theme, which is also the English translation of Oregon's official Latin motto, "Alis volat propriis."

With extra time to prepare — the air show was canceled the previous two years because of the pandemic — organizers decided to celebrate women and their contributions to aviation.

The show will feature a skydiving exhibition from the Misty Blues Team, as well as the F-16 Fighting Falcons and aircraft that will include F-35s, F-18s and a 1940 Boeing Stearman. All the skydivers and crews will be women.

The show returns to Hillsboro for the first time since 2018. The absence included a two-year pandemic-induced break and a 2019 show that took place in McMinnville because of construction at Hillsboro Airport.

But the show isn't abandoning McMinnville. For the first time, it will have a second event at McMinnville Airport in August.

Hillsboro's show will open its gates at 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The show will remain open until about 9:30 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

To get tickets, go to the air show's website.