Michael Shea, 8, launches a plane at the airshow he and Will Smith, 6, put on while planes from the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow roared overhead on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. The two would pause their show to watch classic planes buzz the crowd.

(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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Kyle Franklin cruises past the crowd in his custom bi-plane "Dracula" during an aerobatics demonstration at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Dracula is styled similarly to a 1930's racing bi-plane but made using modern technology and techniques.
(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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Larry Glass photographs Kyle Franklin in Dracula at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Large cameras dotted the crowd as spectators snapped photos of the planes.
(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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A member of the Air Force's Wings of Blue parachutes down to the airshow with a large American flag at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. The Wings of Blue opened up the flights for the day.
(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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New Air Force enlistees look up as a plane takes off from the nearby Colorado Springs Airport while waiting for their enlistment ceremony at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Their oath was administered by Lt. Col. Jason Heard, the commander of the Thunderbirds.
(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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Kim Goranson and Joseph Sidhu, 7, watch planes fly by at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Planes would buzz the crowd as close as possible but binoculars or large camera lenses still helped.

(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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A Grumman F3F-2 Flying Barrel, top, and its successor the F4F Wildcat fly at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Most of the planes that flew at the airshow on Saturday were classics, by the time the Thunderbirds were to perform rain had rolled in.

(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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Enlistees stand on the Hot Deck waiting to be sworn in to the Air Force at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Their oath was administered by Lt. Col. Jason Heard, the commander of the Thunderbirds.

(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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Enlistees speak their oath of enlistment on the hot deck at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Their oath was administered by Lt. Col. Jason Heard, the commander of the Thunderbirds.

(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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White 33, a restored P-38 Lightning, and an A-10 Thunderbolt II pass overhead at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. The pair were chosen as a heritage flight at the airshow in honor of Col. Francis Royal who flew in the same squadron as White 33 before the plane was shot down.
(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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Greg Bollendonk watches Kyle Franklin pass by in Dracula at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Bollendonk and his friend Larry Glass brought their cameras to photograph the planes as they flew.
(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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A Supermarine Spitfire flys by the crowd at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. The Supermarine Spitfire is famous for protecting England during the Battle of Britain.
(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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Tiegen Cox, 7, climbs out of a display cockpit at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Tiegen got help from his dad, Ron Cox.
(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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Easton West, 8, peaks out of the cockpit of a C-130 on the tarmac of the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. The C-130 and a Chinook helicopter were both open for visitors to explore and had long lines, even after the rain started.

(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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Visitors wait for a tour under the tail of a C-130 on display at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow while rain pours down on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Rain canceled the afternoon flights and closed the tarmac.

(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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People run through the rain at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow as security started closing the display aircraft on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Crews kept the aircraft open as long as possible to let people explore and stay dry.

(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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Lauri Martin and Pilot, 7, run through the rain from a C-130 on display at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. The C-130 crew keep the plane open for half an hour after the rain started before security had to close down the tarmac.
(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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Rick Duhaime climbs out of the C-130 as Michael, 8, and Rachel, 6, wait with umbrellas and their mother, Laura at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Several demonstrations were canceled due to rain.
(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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Maddie Wilson, 11, talks with her grandmother through the side door of a C-130 at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Visitors who were in line for the C-130 when the rain started waited through the downpour for their chance to explore inside.
(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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Raindrops on the tarmac outline the tail of the C-130 at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. A light drizzle quickly turned into a heavy rain as the demonstrations were canceled and people ran to their cars.
(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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A B-25 flies by the crowd at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Early demonstrations went off without a hitch before the rain started in the afternoon.
(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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Francis Robert Royal holds the tip of a P-39 Airacobra propeller that was struck shot while his father flew it during World War II at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Royal and his siblings presented the propellor and a 10,000 dollar check to the National Museum of WWII Aviation.

(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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Randy Royal laughs with Bill Klaers, president of the National Museum of WWII Aviation, after the Royal family presented a 10,000 dollar check to the museum at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Jim Slattery, a museum board member, holds a propellor tip that the Royal family also donated.

(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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White 33, a P-38 Lightning that was damaged in WWII and later restored, flies over a display at the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. White 33 flew as part of the Heritage Flight.
(The Gazette, Nadav Soroker)

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