The Texas Capital Air Show finally touches down in San Marcos next weekend, bringing an Air Force F-22 Raptor, four Texas Air National Guard F-16s and a restored C-47 transport plane that led airborne units into the Battle of Normandy. The two-day event runs Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and 8, with more than three hours of flying scheduled each day alongside a static display of aircraft on the ground.
The show was originally supposed to debut in San Marcos on November 1-2, 2025, but organizers postponed it after a federal government shutdown disrupted military participation, according to CBS Austin. The shutdown also forced disruptions at other air shows around the country, including Wings Over North Georgia, Wings Over Houston and the Pacific Airshow in Huntington Beach, as reported by AVweb. The rescheduled dates were confirmed for November 7-8, 2026, and the City of San Marcos has a five-year agreement to host the air show through 2030, with an option to extend that deal another five years, according to the San Marcos Record.
The F-22 and the Texas Air National Guard Open the Show
Texas Air National Guard F-16s will open the show with a four-ship flyover, per CBS Austin's report. The event's headliner is the USAF F-22 Raptor, a multi-role fighter whose primary function is air dominance and which entered U.S. Air Force service in 2005, per the air show's own site. Tim Scherer, president and founder of Wings and Warriors, told CBS Austin the F-22 essentially makes physics optional, describing the kind of high-speed maneuvering spectators can expect to see. The lineup also includes aerobatic aircraft and other warbirds, plus an on-ground static display where visitors can get close to the planes.
A C-47 That Flew Into D-Day
Among the warbirds is the C-47 known as That's All, Brother, which Scherer said led the airborne invasion of Normandy 82 years before the article's publication. The aircraft was built in March 1944, and less than three months later it led the airborne units into D-Day, according to the air show's website. Scherer told CBS Austin the plane was recovered and restored before returning to the skies in 2018; the air show's site adds that it flew back to Normandy in 2019 for the invasion's 75th anniversary. Scherer himself flew That's All, Brother over Normandy for the 80th anniversary two years before this year's show, per CBS Austin's report.
Tickets, Gates and Volunteer Needs
Gates are scheduled to open at 9:30 a.m. and close at 4:30 p.m. both days, according to the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce's event listing. Adult tickets are $45, with children admitted free, the San Marcos Record reports. Organizers are still looking for volunteers to help with parking, driving golf carts, emptying trash cans and working the VIP tents, per the same report.
Proceeds Support Veteran Suicide Prevention
The air show operates under the nonprofit Wings and Warriors and raises funds for the Save a Warrior program, which the San Marcos Record describes as supporting veterans and first responders. Scherer told CBS Austin the program provides post-traumatic stress treatment and suicide prevention services for veterans and first responders. So far, Wings and Warriors has put 42 people through the Save a Warrior program, according to the San Marcos Record's reporting.
