CROWDS GREET RETURN OF WINGS OVER SOLANO
Viewers sat together on a sunny Saturday afternoon and gazed at the skies above Travis Air Force Base, soaking in the much-anticipated return of Wings Over Solano.
Spread across the massive runway, civilians entered the grounds excited for the first event since 2019. A.J. Degroot admitted that he, along with his wife Lindsay, came back to the event in a last-second decision but were happy to show 9-yearold daughter, Brynlee, and 7-year-old son, Dallas, how to pay respect to those who serve their country.
“These guys protect our freedoms, and they just educated the kids on that,” A.J. said.
While many set up their lawn chairs long before the air show began, others walked around to enjoy a closer look at the different aircraft still on the ground. Whether it was sitting in the cockpit of a fighter jet or even getting the chance to walk through the base's Aviation Museum, long lines were common throughout the runway.
Walking through the C-5 Galaxy Aircraft in his own pilot jumpsuit, 5-year-old Damian Gonzalez of King City, who came with dad Fabian, couldn't believe he was inside an aircraft.
“Almost a billion people when that is closed could probably fit in here,” Damian said pointing toward the backloading gate.
Active service members tied to Travis openly chatted with civilians and answered questions about elements of their day-today lives. Major Chris Williston, C-17 pilot and deputy director of the open house, credits their work with those in attendance, calling them, “walking minibillboards,” of the team effort from the base.
“They love talking about their jobs, especially in the Air Force because they are proud of what they do,” Williston said. “Anyone you see in the uniform you can absolutely stop and talk about, `Hey, what do you exactly?' because a lot of people don't know.”
After people got their fill on the runway and even grabbed some food from a variety of vendors, they pulled out their lawn chairs, reapplied sunscreen and were ready for the show. Williston said the show, in the works
since June, focused on “honoring the past and inspiring the future.”
“It's the recognition of what has been done and what has been seen,” Williston said “It's also seeing what the capability is. You see a wide variety of air mobility aircraft, air combat command and global strike command.”
The crowd watched in awe as the likes of Vacaville native Haley Brunkal and the rest of the Wings of Blue parachuted from the clouds, Vicky Bezing nailed tricks in her Vintage World War II Stearman or a Lockheed U-2 plane from Beale Air Force Base out of Yuba County took to the air.
Perched underneath the wing of a grounded C-5 Galaxy Aircraft to keep cool while watching was Vietnam veteran David Kanouff. Having attended the event since his days in the Navy, Kanouff couldn't stop smiling while watching the show.
“I love it, I always do,” Kanouff said. “I'm sure glad I'm here today.”
While the public continued to watch the parade of planes ranging from the supersonic capable F-35 all the way to the fly-by of the bomber squad B-2, B-1 and B-52, Williston stood beaming with pride. Seeing the thousands in attendance, he encourages those in the public that weren't in attendance on Saturday to come out Sunday to enjoy the event free, comparing air shows to aircraft zoos.
“These things that most people have to travel around the world to see, they get to come here for free and witness it themselves,” Williston said. “This is where government money, their taxes are going, and it's a great way to support the local community.”
The second day of Wings over Solano is set to take place today between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Parking is available to the public beginning at 9 a.m., at the David A. Grant Medical Center gate, located off Air Base Parkway in Fairfield. For more information, go to Travis. af.mil/TravisAirShow/.