Engines roar as heat soars at Cherry Point Air Show

The sound of roaring engines and propellers, the smell of smoke and the sights of water bottles and people sitting under airplane wings Saturday marked the second day of the Cherry Point Air Show.

An electronic screen outside the air traffic control tower showed the temperature was 95 degrees at 11 a.m. and 103 degrees at 3 p.m. Despite the heat, officials estimated that the show was on pace to draw 150,000 people by the end of the weekend, said 1st Lt. Ryan Powell, a Cherry Point spokesman.

"There have been some heat cases, but emergency personnel are taking care of it," Powell said. "They've been filling up the water bowls, sprinklers and portable water stands, and rescue departments opened up the fire hydrants for the kids to run through."

A worker in a hospitality room said at least a dozen people were taken from the base to hospitals for heat-related medical care. For that reason, officials changed their policy and will allow small, personal coolers with ice and bottled water on base today. Gates open at 8 a.m. and the flying begins at 10 a.m. The Blue Angels, the featured act of the air show, take to the skies around 3 p.m.

People tried Saturday to find ways to stay cool while watching a variety of aircraft flying through the skies and vehicles rolling down the runways. The Shockwave, a truck with a jet engine, blew white smoke and flames out the back as it raced down a runway at 337 miles per hour. Evan Campman of Beaufort, S.C., ran into a man while watching the truck.

"I thought it was going to crash moving that fast," said Evan, who is 11. "I crashed instead while I was trying to get a shady view."

A Harrier jet flew above the tarmac. The pilot stopped the plane about 50 feet above the ground and hovered in one spot for several seconds. He flew the plane backward, touched the ground for a second and went back into the air. James Paul Thompson, a former Marine who lives in Oak Hill, Pa., said he used to fly Harriers.

"I've got my Pepsi, my shade and a pretty good seat at one of the best air shows there is," he said. "I drove down to stay here all three days, and I'm getting quite a free show."

Thompson sat under one wing of a Navy VA-195, a single-engine plane. Mark Hancock of Havelock sat under another wing with his daughters, Summer and Eden. The Hancocks said they enjoyed watching the F-15 jets.

Rick Thomson and Roger Brassell sat in the shade of a 1943 Vickers Supermarine Spitfire MK 1Xe. Brassell was stationed at Cherry Point in the 1960s, and Thomson spent 21 years as a Marine pilot.

"I'd rather be doing it than watching it," Thomson said.

He turned to watch two Ospreys and a group of 10 men floating down onto the tarmac. The men were members of The Golden Knights, the U.S. Army Parachute Team. The parachute team members found a cold spot 14,000 feet above Cherry Point as they flew up to jump out of the plane.

Will Fleming, one of the team members, said the temperature dropped three degrees for every 1,000 feet the plane rose in the air. Fleming said the temperature was about 60 degrees at 14,000 feet.

Thomson and a crowd of children watched the team members fold up their parachutes after landing on the ground.

"I think it's impressive you can see that many jumpers hit a spot and walk away with no rolling," Thomson said. "I've enjoyed every demo, and I'm looking forward to the big one."

"Danger Zone," a song from the movie "Top Gun," played on portable speakers near the tarmac. Four Blue Angels planes took off and circled toward the clouds. Two more flew together and left smoke trails in the air.

A crowd of people craned their necks and removed their sunglasses to watch the six-plane aerobatic performance. Some put children on their shoulders for a better view.

"This was the big-ticket performance right here," John Paul Thompson said. "They're the ultimate in synchronized flight. For everyone that could take it (the heat), what an afternoon."