As the F-15 Eagle roared out of a barrel roll and climbed toward the sun, Alvaro Ramos craned his neck and spilled his beer onto the tarmac.

Ramos, a former pilot in the Colombian air force, traveled from Naples to join the thousands at this weekend's Wings Over Homestead air show -- the first of its kind in almost two decades.

``I came to remember,'' he said. ``I used to do that.''

Those who helped coordinate the massive two-day event, which drew an estimated 80,000 on Saturday alone, would be delighted to hear that.

Ever since having their base flattened by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the personnel of the 482nd Fighter Wing hadn't invited locals onto the runway for the usual pomp accompanied with military presence.

But shortly after taking command of the 482nd last year, Brig. Gen. William Binger received requests from officers concerned that locals had forgotten the base was even there.

``There are people outside the gate that don't know what we do here,'' the general said, adding that the lack of community awareness hit him ``in the face like a two-by-four.''

Saturday's astounding show of engineering power, pilot precision and patriotism was intended to change that.

Parents from across South Florida stood beside mystified children as the kids watched an F/A-18 Hornet release 36,000 pounds of thrust as it made a hard right shortly after takeoff. The ripping sound of the afterburner swept through the crowd, causing most to quickly cup their hands over their ears.

``I thought my ears were about to explode!'' said 10-year-old Edward Williams from his lawn chair.

Those in attendance were treated to hours of loops and spins from planes ranging from World War II-era P-51 Mustangs to sleek jet fighters used today. In some cases, old and new planes even flew together in what announcers called ``legacy flights.'' Curious observers were given the opportunity to touch the hulls of giant parked planes such as a B-52 Stratofortress and a KC-135 Stratotanker.

The aerial acrobatics, performed by local pilots and the nationally renown Thunderbirds, prompted Fort Lauderdale's Ileana Ruiz to let out a whispery ``woah.'' The Nicaragua-born Ruiz, who stood on the runway with her husband and 3-year-old son, said the show made her proud of having come into the United States as a child.

``You get to see what our nation can offer us,'' she said, glancing at the jets overhead. ``C'mon, you tell me a country that has what we have.''

It's that sense of appreciation, Binger said, that will make locals more aware of the Homestead Air Reserve Base. And he hopes that will, in turn, cause a secondary effect: Having citizens urge elected officials to provide more funding to the base, which he said needs a new front gate, dining facility and aircraft hangar.

``This is a vibrant base . . . and I need the community support,'' he said.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@