Crissy Field Festival a Celebration of Flight

By Andrew Trexler

In the short century between the Wright brothers' 12-second flight over the hills of North Carolina and space walks at the international space station, the evolution of flight has taken humankind on a never ending quest to go further, faster.

Around 5,000 spectators were camped on the grassy embankments around Crissy Field for the Centennial of Flight Festival, held Saturday, Oct. 11. Their necks craned to see the historical and modern machines racing across the sky for the Centennial of Flight Festival, which was held in conjunction with Fleet Week festivities and an air show featuring the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels precision-flight team.

The show began at 11 a.m. with the majority of activities geared toward family fun. There were exhibits and talks about Crissy Field's rich history and numerous exhibits about flight - the first flight to take off in San Francisco occurred at the airstrip that was once located at the field.

Crissy Field is the site where many historic aviation achievements took place, including the first sun-up to sun-down transcontinental flight in 1924, the first race to circumvent the globe in 1924 and the inaugural non-stop flight to Hawaii in 1927.

The event also featured a fashion show of historic uniforms that were worn by flight attendants in the last century.

Family activities included an exhibit where children could make their own flying machines, such as a kite, balloon or airplane, and a musical performance by the 91st Division Marching Band.

The centennial exhibit brings many things to the Bay Area, organizers say, including a badly-needed economic boost for local merchants and a show the whole family can enjoy.

The highlight of the day's events was the air show, featuring historic aircraft, a Canadian flying team and the Blue Angels.

As 2 p.m. approached, the first jet could be heard roaring across the sky. A Navy F-15 Eagle screamed over the horizon, its twin engines giving viewers wearing earplugs a good test.

On the F-15's second pass, it was accompanied by a World War II-era single-propeller airplane and a single jet-engine fighter from the Korean War.

The Canadian stunt squadron, "The Red Devils," took to the sky with nine jets and assembled various formations for about 15 minutes.

After a U.S. Coast Guard tanker buzzed the audience, the crowd grew restless waiting for the Blue Angels, which had been practicing for several days before the show in the Bay Area.

Cheers and whoops from happy fans erupted when the first sight of the trademark blue and yellow Navy F-18 Hornets screeched across the sky performing their trademark daredevil routines.

The air show, which started in the early '80s, was cancelled for one year after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.