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The plane appears from behind the clouds, as the announcer readies the
crowd.
"Get ready for Parachutes over Carmi, folks," he says. "Number two
away, number three away."
Tiny black dots fall from the plane, lining the sky with multi-colored
parachutes. Circling like birds, they eventually reach the ground, some
landing gracefully while others prefer a more painful approach.
So begins the 2004 Southern Illinois Air Show, a two-day event at the
Williamson County Regional Airport in Marion featuring aerobatics,
vintage wartime airplanes, a jet powered truck and skydiving
demonstrations. The air show, which ran Saturday and Sunday, attracted
families and veterans as well as lifelong plane enthusiasts.
Roger Followell, of Marion, flew his Cherokee 235 plane over the airport
Saturday morning during a flyby.
"I bought my first airplane on my 52nd birthday," Followell said. "It
was a birthday present to myself. It's always been a joy for me ever
since I was a kid."
Along with his plane, Followell brought his camera to the air show.
It's important to bring a camera to an airport, he said, because one
never knows what's going to "straggle" in.
Among the planes that managed to straggle in to the air show were
vintage airplanes used for military training during World War II and the
Vietnam War. Other vintages included Chinese military planes and the
"Star of America," a restored Lockheed Constellation made in 1958.
The ability to see and touch such historic aircraft appealed to Jeff
Corey, of Benton, and his three-year-old son, Matthew.
"Matthew's touched each and every plane so far," Corey said. "He loves
propellers."
Corey began attending the Marion air shows with his entire family
shortly after the terrorist attacks in 2001.
"Usually at an airport, the plane is off limits, but here you're able to
get up close," Corey said.
The vintage warplanes were not the only planes under exhibition at this
year's air show. Dozes of tiny, radio-controlled airplanes drew the
attention of the children in attendance, with Scooby Doo piloting a
World War I German plane and E.T. at the helm of "E.T. Flying Home,"
another wartime wonder.
The Motorcycle and Car Show also gave the children a chance to
experience another popular pastime. Bypassing a 1955 pink Crown
Victoria, several children immediately spotted the Rocket Car, a 1990
Pulse motorcycle covered in silver metal. Looking like a cross between
a bobsled and a space shuttle, the motorcycle drew curious speculation
from some children.
"Is it a car or a missile?" One little boy asked.
Another boy touched one of the motorcycle's wings, and asked, "Is that
airplane car going to fly?"
Bob Colombo, the owner of the pink Crown Victoria, has been competing
and winning in car shows for twenty years. While the Marion native
doesn't care whether his car wins in this year's competition, he said
the air show gives people a great chance to interact with others.
"I really don't want to win anymore," Colombo said. "I just come for
the people here."
Karen Spieth, of Salem, has traveled over an hour to attend the Marion
air show for the past two years. While traveling to different air shows
around the region, Spieth has come to know several of the pilots that
fly the "old, but beautifully restored" planes.
"It takes a lot of love to do what these guys do," Spieth said. "A lot
of these people aren't paid to come down here, they just do it for the
love of flying."
Daily Egyptian 
