Attendance High at Grounded Air Show
Nearly 80,000 people attended the final day of Aviation Expo ’90 Sunday at Van Nuys Airport, despite the absence of any daredevil stunts or aerial displays, organizers said.
“For an exposition without any flying, it went very well,” said Acting Airport Manager Richard Davison, adding that he hopes Sunday’s high turnout will help prevent the demise of the annual event.
Los Angeles Department of Airports commissioners voted in April to make this the last air show at the airport, which has hosted the event for 28 years. Commissioners also decided to ground planes this year in response to concerns from residents in the surrounding neighborhood.
But that did not deter aviation buffs, about 5,000 of whom lingered on the tarmac Sunday afternoon to watch the takeoffs of the 90 or so aircraft that had been displayed. Davison said crowds continued to watch planes take off at 7 p.m., two hours after the show was scheduled to end.
“They wanted to see flying,” he said.
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