An estimated 210,000 people attended the air show over the weekend.
CHICOPEE – For some, the highlight of the Great New England Air Show was the performances from the vintage aircraft, for others it was being able to view some of the most modern aircraft used today.
And for some veterans, it was checking out the planes they had flown in or worked on for years.
“I used to work on A-10’s. I’m going to check out the tail numbers on the A-10s to see where they came from,” said Edward Pratt, of Northampton.
Retired from the Army National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing, Pratt worked on the A-10 Warthogs when they were flew out of Barnes National Guard Base in Westfield. He said he was interested to see if any parked at the show were familiar. Several years ago the base converted to flying F-15 Eagle jets.
But the A-10s weren’t the only planes that interested him. Pratt waited in line to get a better look at the inside of a B-1B Lancer plane and hoped to check out some others.
Marcus Larrier, 12, of South Hadley, convinced his father Jason Larrier to come to the air show so he could see the many different aircraft.
“I just like planes. I really liked the A-10’s, they are weird shaped,” he said.
Larrier said he was also hoping to get a chance to see a stealth bomber.
This year’s show at Westover Air Reserve Base had more than 60 displays of different aircraft as well as a wide variety of flying demonstrations, including World War II vintage aircraft and civilian stunt pilots.
An estimated 100,000 attended Sunday’s show, bringing the weekend total of visitors to 210,000, said Master Sgt. Andrew Biscoe, public relations specialist.
Weather caused some problems during the two-day show. On Saturday aerial demonstrations were delayed because of overcast skies in the morning and a parachute demonstration was canceled Sunday because of high winds. Heat was also a problem and one elderly woman was brought to the hospital by helicopter after being overcome Saturday, Biscoe said.
“We saw a great turnout. The heat caused some problems Saturday and the winds caused a concern (Sunday) but we adapted. Overall it has been a great show,” Col. Steven Vautrain, commander of Westover’s 439th Airlift Wing.
Base officials had warned people of likely traffic jams, but there were few delays.
“It was a great show: That sums it all up. After six months of planning, everything came together,” said show organizer Lt. Col. David Heroux.
The show’s theme this year was “A Salute to the Greatest Generation” and many gathered around to see the vintage aircraft. A WWII reenactment group called the 26th Yankee Division, showed the history of Company B of the 104th Infantry Regiment which attracted a lot of attention.
The group showed the vehicles, weapons, and lifestyle of the Army National Guard unit that was based in Worcester, said Gil Machado, of Taunton.
“Most of it is about making sure people don’t forget the sacrifices they made. This generation won’t be around much longer,” he said.