By Jarred Jackson / Online Editor

Under the wing (Allison Perez / Photo Editor)

By Jarred Jackson / Online Editor

Thunder Over the Empire was the theme for the 2012 March Field AirFest which was held on May 19 -20 at March Air Reserve Base.

About 500,000 fans attended the biennial air show as military and civilian aircraft buzzed the skies over the Moreno Valley and Riverside area.

The lineup for the air show included: U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, stunt pilots, such as Rob “Tumbling Bear” Harrison, Tim Weber, John Melby, Matt Chapman, John Collver and the Smoke-N-Thunder Jet Car. There were also Russian static aircraft.

The air show, which had free parking and admission was expected to draw some 300,000 spectators.

“This year we definitely had more,” said Lt. Col. Donald Traud, who is one of the five executive committee members of the show.

“This may be one of the best and most unique air shows the base has put together,” Traud said.

“We’re proud to be able to show off America’s airplane, and to be able to show off these aircraft to the public is kind of neat,” said Lt. Col Tim Harris, who flies the C-17 Globemaster III.

Besides the C-17, there were demonstrations put on by the Patriots Jet Team, a Marine Corps AV-8 Harrier, F-18, F-6F Hellcat, and a United States Airforce KC135 Stratotanker. The demonstrations included a water drop by a DC10 water tanker brought in by Cal Fire to cool off the crowd in the front.

Robosaurus, a 30-ton, fire-breathing contraption that can lift 4,000 pound vehicles, was one of the attractions at the show.

`There were also booths set up by the California Air National Guard, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Fire Department, Geico, and 99.1 KGGI, a local radio station based in Riverside.

Even with the summer heat the event was packed with visitors who were starting off their summer while watching the performances by current, retired, and civilian pilots.

In formation (Allison Perez / Photo Editor)