300,000 Get Buzzed by the Blues : Air show: Thrill-seekers and aerobatics fans watch planes old and new in El Toro.

Jack Wilson winced when he saw the two blue-and-gold F/A-18 Hornets scream headlong toward each other at a mind-numbing 700 m.p.h., so close to the ground that a twitch by the pilot of either fighter jet would have resulted in disaster.

“I can’t believe they’re doing this stuff,” said the 35-year-old Santa Monica resident as the U.S. Navy Demonstration Squad, otherwise known as the Blue Angels, hurtled Saturday through the sky overhead, creating an intricate mesh of white smoke trails.

“It’s really frightening when you watch it,” he continued. “You can’t tell what’s going to happen next.”

Wilson was one of an estimated 300,000 picnickers, military VIPS, vicarious thrill-seekers and die-hard aerobatics fans who made the trip to the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station to watch the annual show of precision maneuvers.

The first day of the 40th annual Navy Relief Air Show concluded with the breathtaking aerial display by the world-famous Blue Angels. The show will be repeated today.

The free show is put on each year to raise money for the families of sailors and Marines. Programs, pins, posters and other memorabilia are sold, with profits going to the Navy Relief Fund.

The performance by the Navy flying team and an assortment of vintage and stunt-plane fliers thrilled visitors with dizzying spins, stalls and loop-the-loops performed high above the sprawling base.

Although some braved heavy traffic and warm temperatures to see the show for the first time, many seemed to be repeat visitors. Some repeaters said they enjoy the aerial maneuvers, while others said they prefer the military exhibits and the simulated ground and air attack, in which Marine paratroopers dropped out of the sky while A-6E Intruders strafed the airfield.

Art Johnson, 68 and a World War II veteran, said he marvels at the evolution of sophisticated military hardware since he fought for his country.

But the high-tech appeal of the modern aircraft on display is not the main reason that Johnson makes the yearly trip from Los Angeles. Mostly, he comes to reminisce.

“My favorite part is when they’re showing the planes of my day,” Johnson said. “It brings back memories.”

However popular the show is, it is not without critics. Increasingly, local residents are becoming upset over the noise, pollution and traffic congestion that accompany the show, said one Laguna Hills woman who has written to the Pentagon and to authorities at the Blue Angels’ home base in Pensacola, Fla.

“It’s so awful,” said Cindy Carr from her home Saturday as the Blue Angels prepared to take off for their 45-minute maneuvers. “Those planes shake the house and rattle the windows and dishes every time they fly over.”

Saturday’s show went off without a hitch, but the show has not been without its recent mishaps. During the 1988 show, a decorated Marine colonel was critically injured when the F/A-18 Hornet he was flying hit the El Toro runway and exploded.

And in 1985, a civilian pilot and a Marine passenger were killed when the AT-6 trainer they were flying crashed into an empty chapel.

At the base Saturday, there were no discouraging words among the visitors, who searched for ways to keep cool while enjoying the biplanes and supersonic jets.

Julie Stango crouched under the spout of a drab-green mobile water tank behind the grandstand and encouraged her friend, Kelly Ann Wilson, to join in a good drenching.

“You should just dunk yourself,” said Stango, 21, whose husband is stationed at the base.

Wilson, 22, of El Toro didn’t need much encouragement. Dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, she got wet enthusiastically.

“It’s really hot out,” Wilson said.

According to the national weather service, the high was 72 degrees Saturday in El Toro.

Others found that a shady patch of grass and a picnic lunch cooled them down. Don Woodard of Carlsbad passed out sandwiches to his wife and two children on a grassy knoll at least half a mile from the VIP grandstand.

“This is a day away for us,” he said. “It’s great, a picnic with some free entertainment. The planes increase the atmosphere.”