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Community Corner

Nearby Moreno Valley Air Show to Draw Nearly 400,000 People This Weekend

The free air show will feature several demonstrations at the March Air Reserve base in Moreno Valley.

Between 300,000 and 400,000 spectators are expected this weekend at March Air Reserve Base in Moreno Valley for the installation's biennial air show, celebrating Armed Forces Day and featuring screaming fighter jets, classic warbirds and a 40-foot-long car-eating robot.

"Air Fest 2012: Thunder over the Empire" will begin Saturday and continue Sunday, with nearly two-dozen performances scheduled each day.

"This should be a lot of fun," Lt. Col. Donald Traud told City News Service. "We're really looking forward to it."   

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Traud said this is the sixth time that March Air Reserve Base has held the event, and this year may be the best yet.

"We have two headliners -- the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the Patriots Jet Team," he said. "It's rare to have two high-profile jet demonstrations in one show. But we have them."

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The Thunderbirds, flying F-16 Fighting Falcons, last appeared at the 2008 air show, when they wowed onlookers with a 40-minute series of precision- choreographed aerial stunts, including diamond formations, reflection passes, high-speed low passes and vertical twisting climbs.

The Patriots Jet Team, a Byron, Calif.-based civilian group flying six Czechoslovakian-made L-39s, performed in the 2010 show and will run through a number of formation flying maneuvers this weekend.

According to Traud, Cal Fire will bring in its DC-10 water tanker, which will dump around 10,000 gallons of water onto the air field during the show.

"That might be kind of nice when it's hot," the colonel said, noting that the drop will not be directly over the audience.

Traud pointed out that the event is "a joint service" exercise, giving each military branch a chance to show off its hardware.

The U.S. Navy will have an F/A-18 Hornet flight demonstration, and the Marine Corps will have an AV-8 Harrier jet demo, during which the aircraft's vertical-take-off-and-landing capabilities will be displayed.

Army humvees, tanks and helicopters will be among the exhibits.

"For kids young and old, I think Robosaurus will be a real treat," Traud said. "It might scare a few kids at first when they see this truck turn into a robot and start devouring cars."

Robosaurus, a 40-foot-long, 58,000-pound semi truck trailer that turns into an upright mechanized dragon, will be venting its fury on some old heaps parked on the tarmac, according to Traud.

Additionally, a "Smoke 'N Thunder Jet Car" will speed down the main runway at 350-plus mph, and a Perris Valley skydiving team will make a drop onto the air field.

Several propeller-driven aircraft aerial displays are planned, including Jon Melby in his Pitts Special "muscle biplane," and Rob Harrison in his "Tumbling Bear" monoplane.

"Of course, what we're doing is preparing for our 2018 show, which will be humongous," Traud said. "We'll be celebrating the base's 100th birthday then."

Admission to the weekend-long show is free and parking will available throughout the base.

Gates open at 8:30 a.m., and close at 5:30 p.m., on both Saturday and Sunday.

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