By Hayman Tam

A piece of Ground Zero was on display next to the “First Responder” F-15 Eagle. (Hayman Tam)Close to 25,000 airshow fans came out for the Wings Over Wine Country Airshow put together by the Pacific Coast Air Museum (PCAM) in Santa Rosa, Calif.  This two-day show takes place at Charles Schulz – Sonoma County Airport (STS) and is the museum’s major fundraising event.  The cloudy skies cleared and the temperature warmed up to perfect, just right to put in earplugs and sunscreen and enjoy the festivities.

This year’s airshow honored two national occasions occurring this year, the Centennial of Naval Aviation and the 10^th Anniversary of the 9-11 attack.

The Navy theme was echoed on the ground by the museum’s F-14A Tomcat, F-16N Viper, F-5E Freedom Fighter, A-4E Skyhawk, F-8 Crusader and A-6E Intruder.  Wings of Gold took to the air in the form of flybys with several USN T-28 Trojans and a very rare C-1A Trader, a long-retired carrier onboard delivery aircraft.  The popular Greg Colyer traded his normal USAF T-33 for one with a U.S. Navy “Blue Angels” motif, exciting the crowd as the only featured jet performer, showing how nimble a fifty-plus year old jet can be.