Gov’t shutdown impacts Texas Capital Air Show
The government shutdown has caused what would’ve been the inaugural Texas Capital Air Show to be canceled. The event was to raise money for suicide prevention for veterans and first responders. FOX 7 Austin’s Angela Shen reports from the State Capitol.
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Inaugural Texas Capital Air Show has been canceled due to the government shutdown.Â
The event was to raise money for suicide prevention for veterans and first responders.Â
What they’re saying:
The show was going to be Nov. 1 & 2 at the San Marcos Regional Airport. The military planes that were scheduled won’t be coming.
Tim Scherer is the president of the Wings & Warriors Foundation and Texas Capital Air Show.Â
“We didn’t want to create a watered-down version of an air show,” Scherer said. “[The military] portion of the show was probably a two-hour version. When you take all those military assets out, it goes down to about a one-hour show with our civilian assets.”
Erick O’Connor, director of operations for the Texas Capital Air Show, moved down from Canada for the event. He’s organized a military airshow up north.Â
“Ultimately our goal here is put money aside to be able to provide some PTSD treatment for our first responders and veterans and that’s a cause that’s near and dear to our heart, all of our teams,” he said.
He says some of the crews that would’ve come include the U.S. Air Force F-22 demo team, Air Force C-17, and U.S. Navy F-18 Rhino demo team.
Scherer had expected 20,000 people to attend over both days. They’d been planning the show for two years and undid that work in four hours.Â
“Everyone wants to put on the kind of air show that San Marcos deserves and that our sponsors deserve and that our veterans and first responders deserve,” Scherer said.
“It was a gut-wrenching decision for us. I’ve poured my heart and soul for the last two years doing this,” O’Connor said.Â
“We absolutely put a lot of time and effort into this,” John Lugo, director of ground operations for the show said. “Logistics for this operation are beyond anything that I have actually done.”
“We surrounded ourselves with the very best, most talented people in the space, and they all killed themselves for the cause,” Rusty West, co-founder of Wings & Warriors, said. “It’s not lost, it’s just postponed.”
The team says everyone involved has been supportive of the decision.
The Wings & Warriors Foundation started in 2017 after Scherer and his family watched first responders help them after a house fire.Â
“At the same time, we were reading stories about military and veterans and first responders taking their own lives from the trauma, and I told my wife someone needs to do something, and it turns out we were someone. I talked to a couple of different friends and I said, ‘hey, we need to raise funds and make sure that when these men and women knock on the door looking for help, that door is answered and it’s no cost to them,'” he said.
The Air Show is now planned for Nov. 7 and 8, 2026.Â
“We’re definitely having it for real. It’s going to be bigger and better,” Scherer said.Â
“If I was to look at the silver lining out of this, we had a great first practice,” O’Connor said.
What you can do:
If you have tickets, you have three options:
Hold onto them for next year’s show; more information on this will be released in DecemberRequest a refund by emailing info@texascapitalairshow.com by 11:59 p.m. Nov. 21Turn your purchase into a tax-deductible donation to Wings & Warriors by emailing info@texascapitalairshow.com for a donation receipt
For more information, click here.
The Source: Information in this report comes from reporting/interviews by FOX 7 Austin’s Angela Shen