The Riverside Airshow left an impression on the estimated 80,000 people who attended Saturday, March 24.
The high hopes were apparent at 6 a.m., when attendees were scrambling to set up their chairs in a good spot — four hours before the first event, skydivers jumping from 1,200 feet, said organizer Tom Miller.
But the crowd was still blown away when the F-22 Raptor flew by in the afternoon, he said.
“It was magnificent,” Miller said. “It comes in with full afterburner and made everybody jump out of their skin, that aircraft is so impressive and not one you normally get for an airshow. And everyone got so patriotic, screaming and yelling ‘America.’”
Now in its 26th year, the airshow at Riverside Municipal Airport is among the Inland Empire’s biggest events. It ran roughly from 9:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.