Traffic Jam Tells Success of AF Open House
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — Air Force officials are pondering what to do about the overwhelming popularity of their annual open house and air show at this Mojave Desert base, which featured the Thunderbirds aerobatics team.
More than 500,000 people plugged the highways leading into the base for Sunday’s air show, causing a huge traffic jam.
Many aviation buffs were turned back at the gate, said base spokesman Don Haley. “The open house was too successful.”
It took an average of about two hours to drive the nine miles from the base gate to the flight line, where such exotic aircraft as the B-1 bomber and the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane were displayed.
Next year, base officials are planning to open the gates earlier or run the event over two days.
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