Air show thunders over Rome

Military aircraft, aerobatic pilots wow large crowd at Wings Over North Georgia over weekend at Richard B. Russell Airport

Earplugs and sunglasses were donned over the weekend at the Wings Over North Georgia air show, as thousands of spectators took to the main runway at Admiral John Towers Field at Richard B. Russell Regional Airport.

Attendees enjoyed uncharacteristically warm weather and a cloudless blue sky for the event and similar weather is forecast for today’s show, which will begin around 11:30 a.m. and end around 4:45 p.m. Gates to the airport will open at 9 a.m.

“It was awesome,” said Aiden Rich of Rome, following the performance of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.

“We loved it. The Thunderbirds are the best,” said Leslie Sellers, also of Rome.

JLC Air Shows owner John Cowman was wearing a huge smile Saturday after a wet weekend hurt the show last year, and Hurricane Matthew wiped out his Wings Over the Golden Isles show in Brunswick on Oct. 8-9.

“I thought the show was fantastic, I saw the Thunderbirds a long time ago when I was a kid in Sacramento,” said Matt Dedrick of Atlanta.

Joe Wheatley was in the Air Force for 30 years and said he couldn’t resist the temptation to make the drive to Rome from Marietta to see the Thunderbirds.

Airport manager Mike Mathews said the crowd grew steadily throughout Saturday, which could have been an indication of how much a draw the Thunderbirds are. The elite unit of F-16 aircraft was the final act Saturday, a little after 4 p.m., and that will be repeated today.

“I think the airport will come out really well. We’ve had some pretty good fuel sales, the F/A-18 fuel sales, the helicopters have taken on a tremendous amount of fuel, so I’m hoping this is going to be a really good year,” Mathews said.

Sonny’s BBQ owner Curtis Gardner said it was hard to gauge how large the crowd was because the event was a little more spread out than it has been in years past.

“It’s still a great turnout and we’ve sold a lot of barbecue,” Gardner said. “I’m surprised at how well we’ve done.”

Top: The U.S.A.F. F-16 Thunderbird performs the low and slow crawl across the flight line at the Wings Over North Georgia Air Show Saturday. Above left: U.S. Army Staff sergeant Andy Sippl with the U.S. Special Operations Command Para-Commandos. Above...