Tens of Thousands Visit Base to See Aircraft, Bid Farewell

Sgt. Darrell Perkins stood near the open breech of a howitzer cannon and watched impassively as spectator after spectator walked up to peer down the business end of the barrel.

At the moment, the howitzer was less a piece of military hardware than it was a pipe on wheels. But Perkins, 31, a Detroit native with nine years in the U.S. Marine Corps, has seen his howitzer send shells flying more than 15 miles.

Looking down the barrel was not for him.

“No,” he said Friday morning. “No way. Not even playing around. I would much rather be here in the back. If they knew what comes out of that . . . “

Therein lies the mystique of the El Toro Air Show, celebrating its 47th and final year this weekend at the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro. The show has always been a chance for military and aviation buffs to view the tools of the trade. But the event has grown to become part pageant, part festival, giving ordinary citizens a chance to touch things military.

For a few days, machines of death become machines of curiosity.

And the curious were out in droves Friday. Base officials estimated some 250,000 showed up for the unofficial first day of the show, a preview for school groups, senior citizens, people with disabilities, corporate sponsors and others willing to bake in the sun as planes representing 70 years of aviation flew overhead.

The show was a mix of military preening, with aerial demonstrations by pilots flying Harrier jets, F-16s and a variety of helicopters, and showmanship, with stunt pilots in helicopters, hang gliders, and replica biplanes. The show ender: the Blue Angels, six jets whirling and twirling overhead at dizzying speeds and with deafening loudness.

There was a sense of sadness among some people as they talked about how many years they’d attended the air show. Recurring speculation about base closings had given past air shows a touch of urgency, and previous years’ souvenir T-shirts wrongly commemorated the air show’s demise.

This year, though, the show has an air of finality to it. The base is scheduled to close mid-1999, and there will be no show next year. T-shirts bearing a picture of a bull and the slogan “Adios El Toro” were on sale near the entrance.

“It’s sad,” said Ron Adcock, 36, of Orange. “It’s a shame the base is going away.”

But the emotions fell well short of maudlin. In fact, Adcock inadvertently served as a straight man for Air Force Capt. Bryan Knight, pilot of the popular Stealth fighter on display along one of the runways.

“Is this yours?” Adcock asked Knight as he approached the plane.

“No, sir,” Knight dead-panned. “Actually, it’s yours.”

The Stealth fighter was one of the big draws of the day, forcing Knight to field endless questions. But he’s used to it.

“You get asked the same 10 questions every day,” he said. “How fast does it go? (700 mph). How high does it go? (I can’t tell you). And where are the bombs carried? (Underneath).”

Few bother to ask why the plane is the only one under armed guard by about a dozen Marines.

“We’ve had people come at it with hammers and stuff,” said Knight, who is based with the plane at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. “We’ve never had anyone get hurt. But you’d have to be pretty stupid to go up against a Marine guard.”

The mystique of the plane, with its black exterior and bat-like design, was lost on Josh Castagna, 10, who stood impatiently while his father asked Knight questions.

“Let’s go somewhere else,” he whined. “We’ve been looking at this plane for hours. It sucks. You can’t even go inside of it.”

But you can go inside the Huey helicopters, which attracted Nick Scalisi, 7, of Huntington Beach, who arrived at the air show dressed in combat fatigues, boots and military cap.

From inside the helicopter, he aimed a mounted gun and pretended to mow down the crowd--”Buh, buh, buh, buh, buh!”--before moving on to the cockpit.

Slipping into the pilot’s chair, he grabbed the controls and yelled out, “Enemy target! Enemy target!”

It took his grandmother some cajoling to get him to leave.

“Nick!” called out Marilyn Baima, 61, of Long Beach. “Let’s go. I’m dying of heat.”

Nick stood up, slipped to the edge of the helicopter and, shouting, “Mayday! Mayday,” jumped to the ground.

“We just can’t get him to leave,” Baima said. “He’d have his pilot’s license before he left, if he could. He’s never been to anything like this before. And now he wants to be a helicopter pilot.”

With that, grandmother and grandson walked off, one to find a break from the heat, the other to find more adventure.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Approach Control for the El Toro Air Show

Traffic Conditions

* Highway advisory radio station, AM 530, will broadcast traffic conditions.

* Southbound motorists are advised to take the Santa Ana Freeway and exit Culver Drive, Jeffrey Road or Sand Canyon Avenue (if early). Northbound, use Santa Ana Freeway to Alton Parkway.

* Irvine Boulevard and Trabuco Road from Jeffrey Road will become one-way access roads into the base.

* Sand Canyon Avenue will be closed between Trabuco Road and Portola Parkway.

* Jeffrey Road will be closed between Trabuco Road and Irvine Boulevard.

After the Show’s Finale

Irvine Boulevard, Astor, Marine Way and Trabuco Road will only allow traffic to leave the air station.

Road Closures Saturday and Sunday

7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

* Barranca Parkway: Ada Street to Alton Parkway, both directions

* Irvine Boulevard: Alton Parkway to Sand Canyon, both directions

2:30 to 7 p.m.

* Sand Canyon Avenue: At Burt Road northbound

3:15 to 7 p.m.

* Trabuco Road: Yale Avenue to Sand Canyon eastbound

* Jeffrey Road: Walnut Avenue to Trabuco Road northbound

* Santa Ana Freeway: Sand Canyon northbound and southbound offramps

* Santa Ana Freeway: Jeffrey Road northbound offramp

Where to Sit

General admission: Free. Lawn chairs, strollers and coolers, but no glass containers allowed on grassy areas between airstrips.

Preferred Seating: $10 to $15. Lawn chairs, strollers and coolers prohibited. Tickets may be purchased at El Toro.

Schedule

A.M.

7:00 Gates open

8:45 Warbirds; N9MB Flying Wing

9:11 Rocky Hill (Extra 300)

9:22 Ken Brock (gyroplane)

9:33 John Piggott (SU-29)

9:48 Dan Buchanan (hang glider)

10:01 Jim Cheatham (show copters)

10:15 Steve Stavrakakis (Zlin 50)

10:28 Bret Willat (glider)

10:39 Navy F-14 Tomcat

10:53 Jim Franklin and Lee Oman (Waco UPF-7 wing-walking)

11:10 Patty Wagstaff (BF Goodrich 300S)

11:23 Sierra Aces (Pitts S2B)

11:30 Commanding general’s welcome

11:45 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Band performs

Noon Navy Leap Frog demonstration

P.M.

12:30 Marine Air/Ground Task Force demonstration

1:06 Bud Light Micro Jet (BD-5)

1:21 UPS fly-by (757)

1:28 Jan Collmer (Fina Extra 300L)

1:43 Bill Reeseman (MiG-17)

1:56 Wayne Handley (Raven)

2:00 Air Force B-2 fly-by (Saturday only)

2:07 Red Barons (A-75 biplanes)

2:25 Air Force F-16 demonstration

2:36 Chuck Lischer (Janes F-260)

2:50 Marine Corps AV-8B demonstration

3:00 Blue Angels (F/A-18)

4:15 Show concludes