SPECTATORS LINE RUNWAYS AT AIR FESTIVAL

Nearly 5,000 spectators crowded along the runways of Cape Girardeau Regional Airport Sunday afternoon for the closing day of the Cape Regional Air Festival.

Airport manager Bruce Loy said he was thrilled by the size of Sunday's crowd and the positive comments that he had received from those attending the festival.

"The bottom line is that you want about 10 percent of the market at a show like this," Loy said.

He added that the airport would have had even more people come through the gates had the weather cooperated more on Saturday. Low cloud cover and rain prevented many of the planes from coming in to Cape Girardeau and kept others from performing.

"Considering what I woke up to (on Saturday morning), I was thrilled. We were lucky to get the show off," he said.

Saturday's crowd was estimated at about 3,000.

Those who attended Sunday's show were treated to a wide variety of aerobatic and precision flying demonstrations. Many of the audience members covered their ears as the jets roared past, at times nearing the speed of sound.

A highlight of the afternoon came when Navy Lt. Jim Turecek piloted the F-18 fighter jet. Taking off at a speed of 150 mph while loud speakers pumped out John Williams' theme to "Superman," the plane flew straight up, reaching the maximum takeoff climb of 5,000 feet.

Turecek then took the plane through a series of difficult maneuvers, including the Double Immelman turn where the force on the pilot and plane is more than eight times greater than the force of gravity. Later, Turecek accelerated to more than 350 mph while rolling the plane 360 degrees.

The delight expressed by the crowd was shared by the military pilots themselves.

Said Loy, "The military was very pleased with the way they were treated. They want to be back."

Loy also hopes that the enthusiastic response will allow the festival organizers to have more displays from the military in future shows.

Later in the afternoon, vintage World War II warbird planes buzzed by, one after the other, while the loud speakers broadcast a recording of President Roosevelt's speech to a joint session of Congress following the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor.

One of the most enthusiastic audience members was Millie Limbaugh, mother of radio personality Rush Limbaugh. Millie Limbaugh came at the urging of state Sen. Peter Kinder who told her that many of the pilots wanted to meet her.

Limbaugh, who received her pilot's license in 1962, was given a chance to board one of the planes, the American Champion Decathlon, and fly above the city.

"I'm going strictly as a passenger. I'm not going to fly," she said, adding that she hadn't piloted a plane for 30 years.

The pilot for the Decathlon, Kathy Ekl of Tucson, Ariz., was a part of a father-daughter flying team that came to air show. Ekl and her father fly in about 20 shows a year beginning in the spring and running through the fall, traveling throughout the south and Midwest. At times, they are gone for six weeks without returning to their home base.

Sunday's weather, she said, was perfect for an air show. On such days she is tempted to stay up in the plane all day.

As Ekl prepared to take Limbaugh up in the plane, Ekl asked if Limbaugh would like to try any stunts. "I'm ready. Bring them on," Limbaugh said.