The influencers and aviation enthusiasts taking over Beale’s air show
Logan Maloy handed his driver’s license to a guard at the entrance to Beale Air Force Base and briefly parked in the lot she waved him toward.
But then he checked the parking instructions emailed to him, where he saw a different lot nearby designated for the media, which he drove to instead.
A few moments later an airman, somewhat frantically, followed behind and called out Maloy’s name. When he replied, the airman radioed in that he had found the “gate runner.”
Maloy was not a gate runner in the traditional sense. That misunderstanding was corrected in short order and chalked up to a learning experience. Instead, he was one of many independent photographers and social media influencers granted press access for their first time.
“He said, ‘I’m so sorry, is there anything we can do for you?’” Maloy said of the airman who detained him. “I’m like, ‘Take a selfie?’ He’s like, ‘Screw it, let’s go viral.’”
So it was, hands cuffed and flanked by airmen, that Maloy started his first day as a credentialed media member, putting him among the majority of media at the 2025 Air & Space Expo, Beale’s first air show in seven years.
The 9th Reconnaissance Wing of the Air Force at Beale opened its media access for the event beyond traditional outlets, seeking influencers with aviation-related social media accounts and modest followings, to broaden its reach in an evolving media landscape.
The result was a media pool of primarily independent photographers and microinfluencers, some of whom are still in high school.
“We want to share the opportunity for a lot of people,” said retired Master Sgt. Charlene Spade, media operations chief for the 9th Reconnaissance Wing. “You’ve got your folks that are established, right, and then you’ve got the folks who are trying to get established.
“There are a lot of microinfluencers and if we can get them out there and get them front row so they can get opportunities to see a lot of the things that go on behind the scenes, right now, a lot of people are paying attention to social media.”
The base hopes to begin hosting its air show every two years, said Col. Keagan “Waldo” McLeese, and familiarize the public with Beale and its mission — a familiarity which can seem counterintuitive for a base focused on surveillance and reconnaissance.
Finding an audience
A video of Sam Eckholm flying in a U-2 “Dragon Lady” spy plane from Beale Air Force Base and marveling at the curvature of the Earth, is among the most recent uploads to his YouTube page.
That video, which racked up more than six million views on Youtube, was posted earlier this year. The content creator returned to Beale this weekend for the air show, where he was alongside some who aspire for his online reach.
“It’s been a thing the last several years where air shows are realizing, ‘Hey, if we want to reach the largest amount of people, we can’t just rely on traditional media,’” Eckholm said, “‘Why not reach out to … (influencers and creators) who are really optimized for the platforms and content that everyone’s on?’”
Eckholm differs from the influencers at the air show in terms of scale and experience.
As an Air Force veteran, he got his start working public affairs for an F-22 demonstration team and has personally flown some of the aircraft on display.
His videos are more like short-form documentaries with hands-on access inside of Air Force bases. Beale officials now show the recent video Eckholm made on the U-2 mission to new recruits, he said.
As a social media influencer, his more than 1 million followers on YouTube trumps the reach of others in the press tent, whose follower counts, generally, would classify them as microinfluencers.
But creators of all follower counts were granted credentials at Beale.
“I don’t think they have anything to lose to cast as wide of a net as possible,” Eckholm said of the base inviting non-traditional media. “They put all this work in to put the show on, why not invite as many people as possible to tell the story?”
For some creators, their aviation photography and online posts fall in the realm of hobby.
“I was surprised when they gave me the media credential,” said Egor Shkorov. “I’m like, I’m just a dude.”
Shkorov, 31 and from San Jose, takes pictures and runs an Instagram account. But more so, he said, he’s also a private pilot who’s passionate about aviation. Walking around the airfield, he pointed to the aircraft on display, noting their disparity in age and purpose.
“It kind of converges over time,” he said of aircraft designs. “There are 10,000 different designs and they all serve their purpose.”
The kids are all right
Some of the microinfluencers view their social media work as a passion, hobby and perhaps someday a proper business. In the meantime, many have gained steady followings, including some who have yet to graduate high school.
Michael Wilson, 16, has maintained an Instagram account called @golden_state_spotter for several years, which has evolved greatly from its earliest posts. He and his mom, Jessica Wilson, first attended an earlier media day at Beale in April and were credentialed this weekend for the air show.
“Technically she’s my employee,” Michael said of his mom. But, to say nothing of family ties, what’s an employee-employer relationship in a venture without revenue?
While supporting her son, Jessica wore a shirt bearing the name of Michael’s Instagram account, with a QR code linking to it on the sleeve.
They appreciated the opportunity to attend the air show as press for the preferred vantage points, earlier access and professional recognition given by Beale’s public affairs team.
“Traditional media makes sense, but the future of media being limited because they don’t have the media credentials — that they can’t get — is limiting,” Jessica said.
Zachary Tull, a 17-year-old who just graduated from high school, grew up in an Air Force family. He received his first press credential to take photos and access the show early, he said, despite not consistently publishing his work publicly.
“I’ve always loved photography and I’ve done multiple air shows so I thought it’s worth a try to apply and get a media pass to get right up to the flight line,” he said. “You get a lot better photos here.”
Wyatt Kalahika, 16, was dropped off at the base by his dad Friday and met up with a group of others around his age who he knows from the online aviation community.
“This is my first one as media,” he said. “But I’ve been going to air shows since I was 3.”
He’s also learning to fly planes, he said, and took his first solo flight a couple of weeks ago. The group he roamed Beale’s air show with is part of a larger aviation community on social media apps, and includes a spectrum of ages.
A ‘tight-knit’ community
As a school counselor and photographer, Nicole Martin sought media access to photograph the event, and relay the experiences to her students, sharing with them possible careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
That mindset of photographers in the aviation community, in her experience, has not matched other photo communities.
“The aviation community is tight-knit and helpful and encouraging,” she said. “They bring each other up, which is unique.”
Martin was one of many who quizzed Maloy about his Friday morning run-in with Air Force security.
The airmen were polite and professional, he said, and when the misunderstanding became clear, they were even apologetic.
Maloy, 28 and from Sacramento, works full-time in IT but recently tasted social-media fame when a video he made garnered over 1.5 million views on Instagram.
Minutes away from receiving his first media lanyard to hang around his neck, he was pulled into handcuffs instead. Yet that dust-up may have worked in his favor. In part, the on-base connections he made afterward may have gotten him fast-tracked for a ride-a-long in a U-2 chase car during Sunday’s show.
“Outside of the media and content creation standpoint of it, I get to do something that’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime chance for a lot of people,” Maloy said. “It’s just funny how my luck works out a lot of the time.”
For some new media members, conscientiously or not part of a changing information ecosystem, their first formal press opportunity may have brought stress, but not without levity, and reinforcement of why they’re trying their hand at something new.
“If I can handle that, I can interview people,” Maloy said. “I can do stuff I’ve never done before. I can try and talk my way — I know they wouldn’t let me — but talk my way into sitting in a U-2.
“The sky’s the limit at that point.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct details about Sam Eckholm, who is an Air Force veteran, but not a pilot. And it has been changed to clarify that Charlene Spade is a retired master sergeant.
