Into the Wild Blue Yonder at Goodfellow's Air Fiesta '08 Published March 26, 2008 By Tech. Sgt. Carissa Lee 17th Training Wing Public Affairs SAN ANGELO, Texas -- Bright blue skies provided the perfect background for the first United States Air Force Thunderbird performance of the year, at Air Fiesta '08 held at Mathis Field in San Angelo March 15. Planning for the air show began months ago, and all the hard work by the air show committee paid off for the more than 20,000 people who witnessed the performances of the Thunderbirds and 18 other aerial demonstrations. Both base and city officials declared the one-day show a resounding success. Ranger Aviation owner John David Fields, who also represents single-member District 1 on the City Council, said with all the pre-planning and cooperation between the base and city, "This is the smoothest day (of an air show) I've ever seen." With only one (temporarily) lost child and a few minor cuts and scrapes, the air show was practically incident-free, according to Lt. Col. Will Roberts, this year's air show director. For a crowd of 20,000, that's a huge accomplishment, according to Roberts. "We ran through every possible scenario we could think of with the city in an exercise prior to the show," he said. "And we were fortunate to have that planning pay off." Gates opened for the air show at 9 a.m. and people poured into the gates at a steady state for most of the day, leading up to the 3 p.m. performance by the Thunderbirds. Besides the events going on above the skies of the city, there were 68 static displays for people to walk through, as well as several different ground displays and performances. "There was something for everyone," said Col. Richard Ayres, 17th Training Wing commander. "It was a beautiful day, with picture-perfect performances by some of the military's finest aircraft, and we shared it all with the wonderful people of San Angelo," he said. "What more could you ask for?"
