Crowd Pleaser : Weekend Turnout at El Toro Base Tops 1.4 Million

EL TORO —  Fighting heat and traffic, more than 750,000 people jammed the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station on Sunday to make the 41st military air show the best-attended ever.

“This show just means that much more in view of what the country has gone through,” said Pat Boone, 54, of El Toro, referring to the Persian Gulf War. Boone waited in traffic for an hour to get into the show with her husband, daughter and two grandchildren.

Minutes later, as a plane rushed overhead and dropped a simulated firebomb, Boone added: “I’m so fascinated by airplanes and what they do; to me, they’re beautiful machines.”

Sunday’s turnout brought weekend attendance to about 1.4 million. Organizers who had predicted only 1.2 million said it was a record for the two days. Another 30,000 people attended a Friday dress rehearsal put on in part for the disabled.

Last year, close to 900,000 plane buffs turned out for the weekend show.

The 1991 show spotlighted the usual dazzling displays of stunt flights and aerial acrobatics, featuring the precision maneuvering of the Navy’s Blue Angels in F/A-18 Hornets, which were sometimes just 36 inches apart from one another. But allusions to the recent Gulf War distinguished this year’s extravaganza from last year’s event.

One reminder of the war that proved a crowd favorite was the Marine Air-Ground Task Force. Its re-enactment of aerial fighting tactics used in the Gulf, complete with airlifts and troop drops, drew waves, whistles and huge ovations.

“I’d join the Marines if I could fly one of those,” said Cara Black, 33, of San Clemente, pointing to an F-16 Falcon that roared overhead. “I’m totally not into the military, but I’d join in a minute to fly them.”

The mercury reached 87 degrees, but show officials reported no widespread medical problems because of the heat.

California Highway Patrol officials reported backups of up to 40 minutes to drive through a 2- to 3-mile stretch of freeway near the El Toro Y during the peak morning and afternoon hours during the weekend.

And many show-goers said that once off the freeways, they had to wait as long as two hours in traffic to reach the air station.