WESTFIELD — Crowds stood along the Barnes Air National Guard Base runway and watched airplane after airplane rush past them, often to the tune of an upbeat song, such as AC/DC’s “T.N.T.” The planes twisted high into the sky, leaving the audience with their heads tilted up, their mouths agape and their hands covering their ears.
“Rockets!” shouted Cormec Privett, 2, pointing his finger to the sky. “Woah!”
Cormec sat in his mother’s lap, wearing over-the-ear safety headphones and drinking a juice box. Cormec and his mother, Katrina, traveled from Hingham to Westfield, Sunday, to see the international air show, “A Century of Airpower.”
The show brought more than 25,000 people each day to the Air National Guard 104th Fighter Wing base this weekend for two days packed with performances, displays, music and food.
“This is a really good community outreach event,” 2nd Lt. Amanda Savoie, of Cummington, said. “It’s great to get people out here to talk to them and tell them about Barnes and show them the greatness that is an air show.”
The day’s events started with members of the Black Daggers, a U.S. Army Special Ops Command parachute demo team. Four parachuters jumped from about a mile high onto the runway, holding an American flag and spewing red smoke from below their feet.
Sunday’s lineup also included an A-10 aircraft from the Indiana National Guard; Michael Goulian, an American aerobatic national champion aviator; the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, an air demonstration squadron based in Las Vegas; and Barnes base’s own F-15 fighter aircraft, among many other performances.
When not watching the performances, audience members could grab a bite to eat, buy a souvenir or see some of the static displays, everything from helicopters to fighter jets. Some were even open for people to sit inside.
Abby Theriaque, of Enfield, Conn., brought her son, Archer, 2, to see the airplanes and to visit with Cormec and Katrina.
“It’s the boys’ first air show,” Theriaque said. “It’s a beautiful day, so we thought we might as well bring the little guys to see the airplanes and have some fun with friends.”
The show marked the 70th anniversary of the Air Force and the 104th Fighter Wing. The last time the Barnes base hosted an air show was 2010. The base used to put on annual air shows, until recent years when more deployments and missions were taking place, leaving less time and fewer resources to be put into an air show.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Savoie said. “We’re really excited to be able to do it again.”
Savoie said she hopes the event will bring a lot of awareness and education to all the people who come.
“We want people to learn about what we do and what our mission is,” Savoie said. “We are part of the community — many of us live right in this area. We want people to feel that.”
Frank and Jane Amodio, of Farmington, Conn., decided to come to the show after hearing about it the day before from a cashier at Lowe’s.
The two had been wanting to come to an air show but didn’t know if there were any happening in the area. Jane Amodio, who has never been to an air show before, said she was excited to see all the different maneuvers and listen to the planes.
“It’s just nice being here and hearing it in person,” she said, pointing to two planes as they flew by. “That is just awesome.”
She said she loves the patriotic side of the show. She is happy to do anything she can do to help the military, she added.
Frank Amodio agreed.
“I’m just so appreciative of what the military does,” he said.