The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds end their 2026 season in an unusual place: on the former space shuttle runway at Kennedy Space Center. The team started arriving on Florida’s Space Coast on Tuesday, November 3, to headline the air show of NASA’s MAX POWER weekend, flown on Saturday, November 7, and Sunday, November 8, 2026. It is the Thunderbirds’ last show of the year.
The arrival
Florida Today reports that the team’s advance pilot and narrator, Maj. Sam “RaZZ” Larson, who flies Thunderbird No. 8, left Ellington Field in Houston on Tuesday, stopped in Gulfport, Mississippi, and flew over Patrick Space Force Base at about 2:45 p.m. before landing. It is his first season with the team; he previously led the F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team. He told reporters the formations at Kennedy would be the tightest the team has flown, with jets as close as 12 inches apart, about 50 feet off the ground and just under the speed of sound. On Friday, November 6, he is due to fly NASA astronaut Frank Rubio in his F-16.
MAX POWER is three separate events
MAX POWER is part of NASA’s celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, and each part needs its own ticket:
- The air show, “Salute to America in Space”: on the Launch and Landing Facility, the former Shuttle Landing Facility. You enter through Kennedy’s North Gate, not through the Visitor Complex. It is produced by Air Dot Show, the company behind the Cocoa Beach air show.
- Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex: MAX POWER exhibits and talks from November 6 to 8, included with normal admission (a single day costs $77 for adults and $67 for children). The Thunderbirds meet visitors there on Friday, November 6, at 9:30 a.m., and parades with astronauts in Corvettes run from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
- UP.Summit: a technology expo with drones, autonomous vehicles and future aircraft, Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Air show times and tickets
- Gates: 9 a.m. both days. Flying: from 1 p.m. to about 4:30 p.m. The organizers say every main act flies both days, but the running order is not published in advance.
- Tickets: advance purchase only, from Air Dot Show – there are no sales at the gate. Talk of Titusville listed general admission from $52.25 (group packages only), ramp boxes from $59.50, preferred seats from $89 and the Flight Line Club from $199, with Sunday general admission sold out as of October 31. Florida Today wrote on November 4 that general admission is sold out. Check what is left before you travel.
- Parking: air show ticket holders drive inside Kennedy Space Center and park on the runway area.
Who is flying
Besides the Thunderbirds, the published lineup (subject to change) includes NASA’s Freedom 250 Aerial Team with four F-5 Tiger II jets, the U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet demo, a C-17 Globemaster III, NASA’s F-15D Eagle and Boeing 777, an F-104 Starfighter and a MiG-29 – which Florida Today says will be flown by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. Talk of Titusville also lists the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team, two Coast Guard aircraft and Rooster Aerobatics.
Watching from outside will not work well
The centre of the show is almost six miles from the Indian River shoreline in Titusville and more than seven miles from the Visitor Complex, and the air show’s own site warns that the view from those places will be limited. Titusville police have warned of traffic delays all weekend, with the air show, the Visitor Complex events and UP.Summit running at the same time.
Dates, the official links and the weather for the weekend are on our MAX POWER 2026 show page.
Worth bringing
- Hearing protection Fast jets are very loud, especially for children. Ear defenders or foam plugs make the day much nicer.
- Folding chair or blanket You may stand or sit for hours. Check the show rules first – some sites limit chairs near the crowd line.
The sources we read do not list the bag rules for this show. Kennedy Space Center is a secure federal site: check the air show’s rules before you pack.
Sources
- Florida Today (via Yahoo): Thunderbirds fly to Florida’s Space Coast for NASA’s Max Power weekend (arrival, Maj. Larson, lineup, viewing distances, traffic)
- Talk of Titusville: MAX POWER air show is this weekend (three ticketed parts, gates, flying times, tickets, parking, lineup)
- Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex: Powers Up for MAX POWER (Visitor Complex schedule, admission)
- Orlando Sentinel: “Air Force Thunderbirds arrive to Space Coast ahead of weekend Kennedy Space Center show” (the Tuesday arrival at Patrick Space Force Base)
Written in our own words from the sources above. Times, tickets and the lineup can change: check the official MAX POWER and air show websites before you go. Checked November 4, 2026.