AirFest successful despite inclement weather

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Anna-Marie Wyant
  • 927th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  More than 30,000 people gathered on the flight line here today, the last day of AirFest 2010, the base's annual air show. The Blue Angels, the Navy's flight demonstration team, headlined this year's event.

The base's gates were open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with opening ceremonies beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday. Events began with the singing of the National Anthem as a U.S. Special Operations Command jumper parachuted from a plane with an American flag waving from his parachute cords. Shortly thereafter, a KC-135 Stratotanker from the 6th Air Mobility Wing here flew by to welcome the crowd.

Other morning events included a C-54 demonstration by the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation and demonstrations by a T-6 Texan, B-25 Mitchell Bomber, Super Decathlon and T-28 Trojan.
Afternoon events included the "OTTO" helicopter demonstration and aircraft demonstrations by a P-51 Mustang, F-15 Eagle and C-17 Globemaster III. USSOCOM also performed a parachute team demonstration.

The last to perform were the Blue Angels, which wowed the crowd with precise flight formations, incredible speed and daring maneuvers. Approximately 100,000 people attended AirFest Saturday.

The demonstrations Saturday and today were scheduled to be identical, but because of possible thunderstorms this afternoon, AirFest was suspended for approximately two hours, during which no demonstrations took place. Attendees were asked to return to their vehicles as a safety precaution. After weather conditions improved, people were allowed back on the flight line to watch the rest of the show.

Although some aircraft were unable to perform today, the Blue Angels did not let the wet runway slow them down. The team's renowned demonstration was worth the wait for those who stayed on the base despite the rainy weather.