It was another picture perfect day at the Air and Water Show, which just concluded its 55th year in Chicago. For long time fans it was a treat, even without the usual military headliners.
"They said they had six new acts coming, so I said I'll come down and enjoy the show as always," said spectator Andre Johnson.
The city estimates about 1.7 million people showed up to watch the show over the last three days.
"It's hard to measure," said David Kennedy, City of Chicago. "We definitely had very crowded beaches all weekend long. The kids were happy. Smiles were on faces. We did a great job of supplementing some veteran acts with filling the void of the military acts."
And while the Thunderbirds and Golden Knights were not here, a lot of the favorites, like Sean D. Tucker and team oracle were delighting the crowd with their acrobatics, amateur pilot Darien Glover among them.
"I want to do it, like the acrobatic part, not as hardcore as doing flips in the air," he said.
For performers it was a treat as well, especially some who hadn't been here in a while. Made up of entirely former golden knights, the all veteran parachute team stepped right in and had a blast.
"All of us love the Chicago show," said Christine Moore. "It was huge for us to come back. I came in 1992. I've been looking forward to this ever since we got the show. Couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Fantastic show. We had a great time."
