Aerovector Jet Team: Remembering American Airpower 2025
- Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza
- 21 hours ago
- 3 min read
Looking back at an amazing airshow presented by a top tier air demonstration team
Remembering American Airpower
As the United States of America celebrates its 250th anniversary, I find myself wishing there was a major virtual airshow happening this weekend. I remember one of the most spectacular virtual airshows from last year: the American Airpower Independence Day Airshow on July 6th, 2025. Something both fortunate and rare these days is that the entire four hour and 30-minute-long VOD is still available to watch.
This show, which was run in collaboration with Thrustmaster, had many established virtual air show teams and a few new ones making their initial debuts with new teams of pilots. The official flyer had some big names were there with interviews within the space between demo teams preparing to perform. When you have this many people across who knows how many time zones just lining everything up is one part of the puzzle. All of these performers still have to fly their routines with a level of precision and daring to keep people excited and inspired.
Though, if I'm honest, the one demonstration that continues to stick in my mind is the closing performance by the Aerovector Jet Team (AVJT).
The Twilight Show
To me, the reason the AVJT Twilight Show stands out is because of its mix of high pilot skill, true to life airshow presentation and the added layer of not compromising on certain aspects that real world airshows may have been hindered by.
In general aircraft displays in the dusk or at night are a rarity both in real world airshows and virtual airshows. Much like they are a highlight of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, they are just as eye-catching in flight simulators. Aerovector utilized the low light by adding LED light panels onto their T-7A Red Hawks with a secondary custom coded sparkler/firework effect. Certain parts of the show had pyrotechnics. All while they fly with the same level of precision you would expect from national military funded teams.
It is quite the sight when you see it from the perspective of an attendee but its different when you see it from the point of view of the AVJT pilots. Seeing both of these perspectives really rounds out the entire experience.
About the Aerovector Jet Team
Aerovector is one of the best teams putting on virtual aerial displays these days. They have consistently done so for much longer than people probably think they have. Let's look at a few points of interest about the team:
Pilot Origins: the current and past members of this team have years of experience flying aerial performances. Some of them with more than a decade of experience flying solo or in smaller teams. They live and breathe this type of flying.
Team Origin: The started flying public airshows in 2019. In November 2024 the core of the AVJT and the Flight Simulator Thunderbirds joined together. They went from flying MB-339s and F-16s to flying a bespoke T-7A Red Hawk mod in Digital Combat Simulator.
Thrustmaster Sponsorship: Aerovector is one of the few teams sponsored by a manufacturer: Thrustmaster. The team flies using Thrustmaster hardware, but it was not always this way. Them getting support from this well-known company is a testament to their commitment to quality.
FlightSimExpo Presence: the AVJT is one of the very few representations of air show flying and an extension of military aviation that has appeared at FlightSimExpo, North America's premiere flight simulation event. They are a part of the opening ceremony for the expo, they work the Thrustmaster booth all weekend and provide attendees with first hand flying experiences. Including a recent virtual reality ride along experience.
This weekend I will definitely be rewatching the American Airpower Independence Day Airshow 2025 with its amazing closing performance. Most likely while having my third plate of backyard cookout food. I'll have to keep myself on standby until I get to see the Aerovector Jet Team fly again next week at AeroFlight LIVE Saipan Air Show 2026.
About the Writer
Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. [Read Staff Profile]
