First Aviation Nation show in 2 years attracts huge crowd in Las Vegas

Warbirds and the Thunderbirds’ red-white-and-blue jets demonstrated the nation’s air power Saturday for 135,000 spectators who flocked to Nellis Air Force Base for the first Aviation Nation public open house in two years.

As the last smoke trails from the Thunderbirds’ F-16s faded into a hazy overcast sky, many aviation buffs rubbed their necks after having craned them skyward for hours to watch the gamut of aircraft from World War II-era bombers to today’s high-tech stealth fighter jets with names like Raptors and Lightning IIs.

David Yanoff, 62, of Henderson, stood near the center of the 2-mile-long flight line to watch the air show with his friend Linda Taylor.

“It’s very impressive,” said Yanoff, an Air Force veteran flight surgeon and private pilot. “What they’re able to do with these airplanes is just amazing.”

Aviation Nation, he said, “really allows them to get the public involved with what their mission is and what their capabilities are.”

The air show and open house continues Sunday with gates opening for security checks at 9 a.m. and shuttle bus service ending at 1 p.m. to enter the base.

Nellis officials estimates at least 135,000 watched Saturday’s free show after parking for 75,000 vehicles at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for shuttle bus service reached capacity at 12:45 p.m.

“We were turning people away, unfortunately,” Nellis air show Director Bob Jones said.

Of the more than 50 aircraft on static display, one of the most popular attractions was the black, B-1 Lancer from the 28th Bomb Squadron at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.

Jonathan Orr, a Faith Lutheran High School administrator, waited in line for an hour, so his sons, Joey, 9, and Timothy, 12, could climb a ladder to take a peek inside the cockpit.

“It’s awe-inspiring to see all the men and women in the service and what they do for our country and for our freedom,” said Orr, 35, of North Las Vegas.

Timothy Orr said the crew’s cockpit “was kind of cramped. I’m kind of claustrophobic. I probably would have started hyperventilating.”

Jon Holloway and his daughter, Andrea, watched as fighter jets soared high over the Thunderbirds F-16s that were parked in front of them, waiting for their cue to perform.

“I think it’s very important to show the general public what they do,” said Holloway, 48, an Army veteran of Operation Desert Storm.

“It brings out a sense of pride and excitement,” he said.

Andrea Holloway, 21, a citizen-soldier with the Nevada Army National Guard’s 240th Engineers, said coming to the air show “is a lot of fun just to get away from responsibilities to enjoy your family for a little bit and experience what we have and experience something different.”

“I don’t see planes all that often in the National Guard,” she noted.

Foreign visitors also ventured to the open house. Francisco Torres Mondragon, 57, of Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico, said he heard about the air show while visiting Las Vegas.

“It’s beautiful,” he said in Spanish while waiting to see the inside of the B-1 bomber. “It’s something I’ve never seen before,” he said through a translator.

Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Follow @KeithRogers2 on Twitter.