It’s a bird, it’s a plane — no, it’s a man with a jetpack.
Although nothing short of impressive, flying people, even augmented via technology, have always intrigued.
But, stealing the show seemed to be the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force’s Blue Impulse and its dynamic aerial demonstrations flooding the sky with smoke trails.
Besides Blue Impulse, Marine Aircraft Group 12 and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force supported a host of military aerial demonstrations, and static Japanese and American military aircraft with Marine Corps Community Services supporting behind the scenes with setup, and a wide array of eats and drinks for the record breaking approximately 275,000 station visitors during the 37th annual Friendship Day here May 5.
Planning for the next Friendship Day begins every year right after Friendship Day because it is by far the largest event for MCCS and the station, said Tony Martinez, MCCS event planner.
Every year the station opens its gates and gives the public the opportunity to experience the wonder of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni.
The greatest reward was seeing Japanese people sprint on base as soon as the gates opened, said Martinez.
Participation by the Blue Impulse was the biggest factor pulling people in this year, added Martinez.
As Blue Impulse took center stage, the crowd rose to its feet waving to the precision performance pilots clad in royal blue flight suits.
Taking to the sky, Blue Impulse proceeded to wow the crowd with dramatic free falls, near misses and elaborate smoke drawings in the sky generating cheers and applause.
Perhaps it was proximity, but on the volume scale, nothing seemed to pierce the ears quite like the jetpack shooting through the air less than 200 yards from the crowd.
“We were expecting oohs and ahhs, and that is exactly what we got,” said Capt. Christian Ortiz, event project officer.
Marines with 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, III Marine Expeditionary Force got their own oohs and ahhs deploying huge U.S. and Japanese flags while parachuting during the opening ceremony.
Friendship Day also established another record with almost 2,000 motorcycles participating in this year’s Thunder Run.
During the Thunder Run, motorcyclists bringing their bikes were invited to take a lap around the airfield while speakers blared classic rock tunes.
Even though the horde of motorcycles was impressive, there’s just something about seeing a competitive battle between two completely unequal things — enter the motorcycle versus airplane race.
“I liked the motorcycle racing the plane,” said Sgt. Ken Kottra.
No Friendship Day would be complete without a smorgasbord of American and Japanese drinks and eats including the ever popular human-head sized turkey legs.
“The huge turkey legs, they were delicious,” said Kottra.
With a concerted effort from the station and tenant units, the pleasant weather and the exciting air show, this year’s friendship day was a success.