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"Thunder Over the Boardwalk" in 8th year - Cathy Gandoflo reports.
WEB EXTRA - Stunt plane performs at A.C. air show
WEB EXTRA - Crowds gather for A.C. air show
This was the 8th annual Atlantic City Air Show highlighted by the Air Force's Thunderbirds.
"They're so powerful and they're so fast, it's really exciting. We're just having a ball," Trudy Small of Towsend, Maryland said.
The aerial acrobatics and precision flying make the event exciting and nail biting.
"They fly at each other from different angles; it's just astounding," Jim Bissetta of Cliffwood, New Jersey said. "It makes what you do on the highway with your car look like child's play."
The Thunderbirds were the finale, but the show opened with an F16 flyby from the 177th New Jersey National Guard out of Egg Harbor Township.
Also taking flight were Coast Guard Rescue helicopters, a World War II vintage aircraft, and a B52 bomber, which made a rare appearance.
"I like when the bomb plane came in and did all those air spirals," Stephen Carlo of Mt. Laurel, New Jersey said.
Officials estimate the crowd reached over 700,000 and each one had a different reason for cheering.
"They're so close, they're like 50 yards up, and you can almost see the people in the cockpit; it's just wonderful," Justin Goldacker of Bridgeton, New Jersey said.
The location wasn't too bad itself.
"It's nice being on the beach; it's the best of both worlds," Betty Martone of Ventnor said.
The very first air show in New Jersey was held in Atlantic City 100 years ago and it appears aviation has changed quite a bit since then.
