The sounds of people’s hats and belongings flying off greeted my dad and me as we walked through the gates at Marysville airport. This was no surprise, since the wind was about 35 mph! Many performers didn’t fly, such as the parachutists, Dan Buchanan, and Dr. D, but the show still went on.

The WWII war re-enactors marched to the Star Spangled Banner, and then defended themselves against an entertaining AT-6 “attack”. After them, Vicky Benzing twisted and turned in every imaginable direction in her beautiful purple Extra 300. Ken Fowler and Eric Hansen of Team Rocket followed her, and did an absolutely amazing performance in their Harmon Rockets. Then Bill Cornick shredded the skies with his Pitts S2C.

Last but definitely not least was the F/A-18 Hornet from the F/A-18 Tac Demo team based in NAS Lemoore. The pilot did high speed passes, vertical climbs and much more, wrapping up the show loudly and excitingly.

Apart from the wind, Golden West 2012 Fly-In was a really neat show. With famous performers and cool things to do there, I definitely recommend this show to anyone who enjoys the thrill of airshows. Hope to see you there in 2013!