Eyes on the sky: Thousands attend first day of air show
<p>THE THUNDERBIRDS begin their show on Saturday at the Mountain Madness Air Show at Glacier Park International Airport.</p>
<p>The crowd taking in the show on Saturday, August 30 at the Mountain Madness Air Show. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>The Thunderbirds fly over the crowd in diamond formation on Saturday, August 30 at the Mountain Madness Air Show. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>The Thunderbirds fly over the crowd in diamond formation on Saturday, August 30 at the Mountain Madness Air Show. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>The crowd waits as the Thunderbirds fire their engines and prepare for their show on Saturday, August 30 at the Mountain Madness Air Show. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>The Thunderbirds fly over the crowd in diamond formation on Saturday, August 30 at the Mountain Madness Air Show. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Kyle Feller of Kalispell and Cindy Walters of Thompson Falls watching the show on Saturday, August 30 at the Mountain Madness Air Show. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Scenes from the Mountain Madness Air Show on Saturday, August 30. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Ryan Eckert of Boise, Idaho and his son Trevor Eckert, 4, on Saturday, August 30 at the Mountain Madness Air Show. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Tyler Godbold, 20, and others practice swearing into the United States Air Force on Saturday, August 30 at the Mountain Madness Air Show. The official swearing in happened immediately prior to the Thunderbirds flight. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Kevin Wilmot of Whitefish and his son Eric Wilmot, 4, watch as the Thunderbirds perform on Saturday, August 30 at the Mountain Madness Air Show. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Danielle Dorman, 24, of Kalispell waves a flag and cheers as the Thunderbirds prepare for take off on Saturday, August 30 at the Mountain Madness Air Show. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>A man aims his camera at the sky for the Thunderbirds performance on Saturday, August 30 at the Mountain Madness Air Show. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
All eyes were trained on the sky at the 2014 Mountain Madness Air Show.
A day of aerial acrobatics and jaw-dropping maneuvers was in store as the air show kicked off its two-day run Saturday.
Pointing to the sky, children and adults gazed in wonder as parachutists descended from the sky with American flags trailing behind while pilot performer Will Allen, the Flying Tenor, flew above singing “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Between acts, commercial flights landed and departed from Glacier Park International Airport, adding to the fun. People took in the static displays ranging from a U.S. Air Force C-130 military transport aircraft to a Republic RC-3 Seabee amphibious aircraft.
Six-year-old Ryker Fisher watched with surprise as a tire fell off performer Ken Pietsch’s Jelly Belly airplane.
“It broke,” Fisher said looking up at his grandmother Johan Fisher of Hungry Horse.
“We haven’t seen the air show before and we wanted to bring the grandson. I don’t know when we’ll be able to see it again,” Johan Fisher said.
Johan Fisher said Ryker was pretty excited.
“He didn’t forget. We woke up this morning I said, ‘What are we going to do today, we’re going to see the air show.’
“‘Oh, yeah, I didn’t forget,’ he says,” Johan Fisher said.
The show wasn’t just limited to the air. On the ground, one performer wowed the crowd.
Clouds of white smoke filled the air followed by a “pop, pop, pop” sound. People started to congregate near the front rows to see what the commotion was about when all of a sudden the Flash Fire Jet Truck barreled across the runway, flames shooting out of a Pratt and Whitney jet engine, reaching 60 miles per hour within a second.
The engine, originally used on a Navy T-2 Buckeye jet, was attached to the Chevrolet truck built by Neal Darnell and his team Chaos.
James Bennett of Bozeman shouted over to his 11-year-old son Colin.
“Colin, watch him, he’s going to come zooming this way full throttle. Yeah, he didn’t even put up the afterburner yet. There he goes. See him,” Bennett said.
While enjoying the other performers, the Bennetts came for the highlight of the air show — the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.
“I grew up around the Thunderbirds, Sheppard Air Force Base,” James Bennett said. “As soon as I found out the Thunderbirds were coming to Montana, that was it. I had to go. We planned for a month.”
Not far from spectator viewing, a special moment was taking place in the lives of nine young men and women from Kalispell, Thompson Falls, Libby and Troy.
They were practicing for their Air Force swearing-in ceremony, which would soon take place in front of thousands of spectators before the Thunderbirds took to the sky.
The recruits practiced under the tutelage of Thunderbirds Technical Sgt. Manuel Martinez and Master Sgt. Stan Parker.
“Raise it [your hands] like you’re getting a million dollars,” Parker instructed. “Make it snap.”
Kalispell U.S. Air Force recruiter Technical Sgt. Joshua Holderman looked on.
“Right before the Thunderbirds fly, they’re going to go to show center and do a swearing with No. 10 pilot,” Holderman said. “They’re pretty lucky.”
For one of the recruits, Mason Cossey, 21 of Troy, basic training was right around the corner.
“I’m going to basic on September 23,” Cossey said. “I’m pretty excited.”
Recruit Daniel Jacobs, 26, of Kalispell also was excited.
“When I was younger I always wanted to enlist,” Jacobs said.
Twenty-year-old recruit Tyler Godbold of Kalispell was standing with his wife, Ashley, and mother, Ronalee Skees.
“I’m extremely proud and honored that’s he’s doing this to serve the family the country,” Skees said.
When asked why he was joining the Air Force, Godbold pointed to his 2-month-old son Adrian.
“He’s the main reason,” Godbold said.
A little after 3 p.m., the Thunderbirds F-16’s fired up in the performer staging area and crowds clamored to get a closer look.
The pinnacle performers were ready to roll.
Hometown hero Maj. Jason Curtis addressed the crowd from the cockpit of his F-16 followed by cheers and applause, then Thunderbirds’ narrator Maj. Michael Fisher started the show.
“Sit back, relax because it’s showtime,” Fisher said.
The crowd applauded, but no one really sat back. Just about all the spectators were on their feet waiting with anticipation and craning their necks for a better look. Out came cameras, cellphones and video cameras to capture the moment.
As the Thunderbirds moved through their signature moves such as the Diamond Opener and High Bomb Burst, there were cheers. Daring maneuvers where the fighter jets were incredibly close to each other such as the Opposing Knife Edge, Cross Over Break and Calypso drew gasps of awe from the crowd.
Four-year-old Bridger Sunde of Kalispell sat on his father Richard’s shoulders for a better view. Bridger said his favorite part of the Thunderbirds performance was when they did rolls or became really loud. This was Bridger Sunde’s first air show.
“Hopefully it’s not your last,” Richard Sunde said, looking up at his son with a big smile.
There will be a repeat performance of the Mountain Madness Air Show today. Gates open at 10 a.m. followed by featured performers at 11:30 a.m.
For more information, go to www.montanaairshow.com.
Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.