HAMPTON, Va. — A Peninsula staple, Langley's Air Power Over Hampton Roads, returned for the first time since 2018, attracting tens of thousands of spectators.
Military
PICTURES: Thunderbirds return to Langley's 'Air Power' air show
Lieutenant Colonel Elizabeth Cramer, the Open House Director for the air show, says 25,000 people came on the base for the first day of the air show, with more expected for the last day on Sunday.
"The weekend's been a huge success due to the support from the Hampton, Newport News, Yorktown community," said Cramer.
Cramer said as someone who grew up in the area, it was important to bring back the opportunity to get people back on the base and see the work of the Air Force up close.
"To see aircraft and jets over every day, you have no idea what they do. It was an opportunity to bring people on and get close and personal with what's flying over their house everyday," said Cramer.
And it's not just demonstrations in the air, like the F-22 Raptor demonstration team, but on the ground, too.
Multiple exhibits took over the air show to really give anyone attending an inside look at what the Air Force does.
Cramer says one of the challenges with the show was parking, with people parking off-site and shuttling over to base on school buses.
The drivers? A big support for the first air show in five years.
"Carrying in these 20,000 people out from community locations, I can't emphasize enough how much we appreciate that support," Cramer said.
If you missed this year's air show, News 3 is told you can plan for another takeoff in 2025.
