Air show brings thrills

The Saturday crowd at the New River Air Station air show came alive with cheers when AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters swooped overhead and bombed enemy targets while Wagner's "The Ride of the Valkyries" blasted from loud speakers.

"‘I love the smell of napalm in the morning,'" Greg Beal, a Jacksonville teenager who wants to join the Marines, quoted from what he calls his favorite movie, "Apocalypse Now," as a pillar of black smoke rises in the distance.

Beal attended the New River Sounds of Freedom Past and Present Air Show with his mother, Wanda Scott, who had purchased a set of earplugs and was sitting in a chair reading Jeffrey Archer's "A Prisoner of Birth."

"We came last year," she said. "My son talked about it for almost the whole year. We are back again. He loves it."

Others in the crowd were beginning to get into the show as the Cobras made a second pass and fired off more simulated rockets. Targets in the distance exploded and black smoke mushroomed up from the flames.

"This is the coolest thing I've ever seen," said Tommy Royal, 13, of Wilmington. "I am going to be a helicopter pilot."

As the simulated attack continued and bombs exploded downfield from the grandstand and sponsor tents, the crowd's excitement grew.

When MV-22 Ospreys carried Marines into the "front lines," the crowd erupted with applause that rivaled the wail of the Osprey's twin rotors. After securing the area, the Marines walked to the crowd to a standing ovation and a warm welcome.

Then the rock music cranked up and sound-barrier-breaking jets like the F-18 Hornet rattled spectators' molars and pounded eardrums.

"This is great!" Tommy shouted at his father, Jim Royal, a construction foreman from Wilmington. "I want to be a fighter pilot."

Royal said his son has picked out several career paths lately and was on his third or fourth choice since the air show began.

"This is cool, though," Royal said as his son pulled him by the arm to look at the inside of a Coast Guard cargo plane.

Kids of all ages enjoyed the sights and incredibly loud sounds of the air show.

As civilian pilots took to the air doing barrel rolls, flips and loops, even the most seasoned-looking flight crew members took a moment to stop what they were doing and enjoy the show.

By 1 p.m., most in attendance did not seem to mind that the UH-1 Huey demonstration at noon was called off because of high winds. Children kept themselves busy crawling over tanks, Humvees, helicopters, airplanes, jeeps and jets.

"They look like ants in an ant farm," Shaun McLean said. He was at the air show with his grandson and admitted he had trouble keeping up with the 9-year-old. "He is too young to run around by himself, but look at the fun he is having."

Children and adults quizzed Marines about their particular pieces of equipment and learned how far an Abrams M-1 tank can fire - deadly at about 3,000 meters; how fast an AV8B Harrier jet will fly - 550 knots, calibrated air speed (that is really fast, the crew said); and how heavy a Browning .50-caliber machine gun is - 84 pounds.

Sandwiched between the tanks and tarmac were a bevy of food vendors offering everything from pizza to Wendy's hamburgers to barbecue. Several tents with military memorabilia and other items ran three rows deep behind the VIP tents.

The air show repeats today with gates opening at 9 a.m. and closing at 5 p.m. Flying demonstrations begin at noon.

The event is free to the public. Photo identification is required for all spectators 17 and older. For more information about the show, visit www.newriverairshow.com.

Contact crime reporter Lindell Kay at lkay@freedomenc.com or 910-554-8534. Read Lindell's blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.