Point Mugu Air Show Canceled for October

Troubled by budget cuts and unable to attract a big-name aerobatic act, Point Mugu officials have canceled the Navy base’s annual air show for 1997.

Base officials said Wednesday that the 35th annual Point Mugu Air Show will not take place as scheduled Oct. 11 and 12.

They hope to reschedule the show for April next year.

Navy officials cited shrinking federal military dollars as the primary reason for grounding the show, which last year drew more than 170,000 visitors and featured the elite Blue Angels flying team.

Capt. Stephen Beal, commander of the air weapons station, said he decided to postpone the air show because of Mugu’s tight budget and a number of unexpected expenses, such as the cost of repairing a sea wall damaged during winter storms.

“You certainly want to make sure you cover your top responsibilities first--running the base, paying for salaries,” he said. “We don’t want to go in the red.”

But Beal was optimistic that the show would take place in April and said Mugu officials will issue a report in the next few weeks on whether that will happen.

The commander said he expects residents across Ventura County to be disappointed by the cancellation.

“We have been very pleased with the community’s support and proud to put the show on,” he said. “I’d like to think of this as a hiccup and we’ll put the show on next year. Our intention is to carry on.”

Mugu officials also had trouble lining up a headliner for the October show.

Base spokeswoman Phillis Thrower said renowned flying teams--such as the Blue Angels, Thunderbirds and Canadian Snowbirds--were contacted, but all had been booked at other shows the same weekend.

Crowds turn out to see such spectacular teams, and officials feared that without a top draw, attendance would be low, she said.

The annual air show is one of Ventura County’s biggest attractions.

Even with poor weather last year, thousands of air show enthusiasts trekked to Point Mugu to watch everything from stealth fighters to sleek F-14 Tomcats cut through the sky.

Ventura County Supervisor John K. Flynn, one of Mugu’s biggest boosters, said the event helps build local support for the military.

“I think it brings the community closer to the Navy,” Flynn said. “It gives them more of an understanding of the Navy’s role.”

Beal said the air show is free to the public but costs the base hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. The show is paid for, in part, by money from Mugu’s budget, corporate sponsorships and a percentage of sales from food vendors.

Expenses include overtime wages paid to civilians who help set the base up and work through the weekend.

To put on the Point Mugu show, the Navy contracts with Don Lewis, a retired lieutenant commander at Point Mugu who has an office at the base. Lewis did not return phone calls Wednesday.

Thrower said that in December, Lewis attended an air show convention in Las Vegas, where much of the season’s scheduling takes place. Lewis was unable to secure a top draw for Point Mugu, she said.

She also said airports and bases throughout the country vie to attract headliners, and elite aerobatic teams often look to go to the show that promises the biggest audience.

“We get at least 100,000 people, but it’s not like Miramar” Naval Air Station in San Diego, Thrower said.

Last year, as Point Mugu celebrated its 50th anniversary, overcast weather grounded the Blue Angels for much of the weekend. Officials hope an April date will bring friendlier skies.

“There’s the possibility that the weather will be a lot better,” Thrower said.