El Toro : Marine Corps’ Air Show Traffic a Concern Again

Orange County skies will be filled with the aerobatic antics of supersonic aircraft, while motorists may be languishing on the earth below when the Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro stages its 35th annual air show on April 27 and 28.

The charity event, the centerpiece of a Marine Corps drive to raise money for the Navy Relief Society, is expected to again draw a crowd of 300,000 to 500,000 . The stream of spectators usually clog the Santa Ana and San Diego freeways, resulting in traffic congestion that is almost as much a tradition as the show itself.

Paul Caldwell, public affairs officer at the Santa Ana substation of the California Highway Patrol, said traffic is usually heaviest just before the air show begins around 11 a.m. and just after it ends around 3:30 p.m. “We recommend that everybody leave in plenty of time to get to the air show,” he said.

According to Caldwell, the CHP plans to have three to five times the number of officers working the freeway area near the base. Rubbernecking motorists, he said, will be the officers’ main concern. “(We) write a lot of tickets for non-emergency stops along the freeway,” he added.

The Orange County Transit District will again operate a shuttle service from locations in Santa Ana and Laguna Hills for those who would prefer not to drive, a spokeswoman said. One-way fares will be 1.50 for adults and 75 cents for children under 12.

Once airplane enthusiasts arrive at the Marine Corps base, they can expect to be treated to a four-hour-long show. On tap for the event are the Navy’s Blue Angels aerobatic team, plus demonstrations of fighters and bombers making mock strafing and bombing attacks, according to Gunnery Sgt. Peg Cauley. One new event planned for this year, she said, will be a set of mock dogfights staged by the Condor Squadron, a group of pilots flying World War II-era training planes.