HILL AIR FORCE BASE — One of the most-attended events in the state of Utah took off Saturday, with hundreds of thousands of spectators turning their eyes to the skies.
"I love aviation," said Russ Ross, whose father was a U.S. Air Force pilot. "It brings tears to my eyes. I just love it."
He wasn't alone as the tarmac filled with patriots and enthusiasts alike, cheering the death-defying moves of pilots brought in from all over the country.
"It's a hard show to fly because of the altitude," said Kevin Ireland, executive director of the Utah Air Show Foundation, which fundraises for years to put on the super popular Warriors Over the Wasatch Air and Space Show at Hill Air Force Base for two days every other year. Ireland hand-picks the performers and said he likes to fill the show with seasoned pilots and "something exciting and different" every time.
Air shows are a great recruiting and retention tool for the military, as seeing the equipment up close and witnessing the maneuvers the pilots pull off is often exhilarating.
"It's also an opportunity to show the public where their tax dollars are going and what we're doing to keep up the national defense," said Micah Garbarino, a spokesman with the 75th Air Base Wing. He said the Utah show gets bigger and bigger because of the "amazingly supportive community" in northern Utah.
It helps, too, that they fly some of the oldest and the newest aircraft in the world during the show.
"It's so cool," said Colton Anderson, age 8. His favorite performance of the day was the set of fairly new F-35 Lightning jets, because "they were loud," he said.
Hill treated spectators to a demonstration of what the fighter jets can do, including appearing out of nowhere and flying so fast that the ground rumbles as they pass. The Utah air base was one of the first to get a squadron of F-35s, and air show announcer Mike Berriochoa said they are "a show of force."
"These are the kind where you show up and let the enemy know you're there," he said, adding that the Lockheed Martin jets are the "most lethal and survivable aircraft out there."
Pyrotechnic teams on the ground burned 500 gallons of gasoline to form a 1,000-foot "wall of fire," emitting 57 million British thermal units of heat felt by the audience as the jets flew overhead, to illustrate their firepower.
Marcy McQuiston donned a star-spangled T-shirt as she led her nephews through the crowd. The Clinton resident is familiar with the sound of military aircraft that flies over her home regularly and said, to her, "it is the sound of freedom."
"We are so blessed to live in this country," McQuiston said.
Pilots train for thousands of hours to perform various spinning, floating, falling and inverting stunts, among others, to enlighten the crowd. The aircraft are also painted in bright colors and fancy designs, and the engines spew trails of smoke to increase visibility as they dance in the sky.
This year's show also offers entertainment on the ground, including the famous jet-powered truck, Shockwave, and non-engine-powered talent in the air in the form of parachute teams and other tricksters.
The grand finale, for which the crowds rose to their feet, included the elite U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, who thrilled with a their six fully combat-capable F-16s flown in sharply choreographed formation over the crowd.
"America's Ambassadors in Blue" rocked and slow-rolled through the sound barrier in the nearly clear, blue skies over Hill as they performed some of their most difficult and highly technical moves to music for the span of about 15 minutes.
And the crowds cheered.
"This is pilots living their dream," Berriochoa said.
The free show runs through Sunday at Hill, with another set of aerial and pyrotechnic displays set to begin at 9:30 a.m. Gates open to the public at 8. Ride UTA is encouraged, and a shuttle system is available. A list of prohibited and permitted items, as well as additional information about the show, can be found online at Hill.AF.mil.