Joint Base Open House and Air Show is a Huge Success

More than 300,000 spectators turned out for the two-day Open House and Air Show at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst over the weekend in Burlington County.

"It's amazing to see all of our planning come to fruition," said Lt Col Phil Lynch, Open House director. "It's been an honor to work with the tremendous team that put together this event which highlights today's military and showcases how JB MDL demonstrates America's strength each day."

Many of history's most storied aircraft as well as today's cutting-edge platforms were on display for visitor's viewing pleasure, including 13 aerial performers and 40 historic and current static aircraft such as the Bell UH-1 Iroquois, C-5 Galaxy, FedEx Airbus A300 and T-1A Jayhawk.

The Army's parachute team, the Golden Knights, kicked off each day's festivities by jumping with an American Flag to accompany the playing of the National Anthem.

Each day culminated with jaw-dropping stunts by the U-S Air Force Thunderbirds flying their F-16's.

"We train so hard to come out and put on the best performance possible for the public," said Army Staff Sgt. Shelby Bixler, Golden Knights parachutist. "The best part is to see your reactions and smiles; it lets us know we're doing our job well. To top it off, we get to land on the ground and interact with the American public and it connects them with the Army."