A record 100,000 people will amble across the tarmac at the Singapore Airshow's two public days this weekend.
Already, some 50,000 people showed up for its first public day on Saturday, with another 50,000 expected on Sunday.
There are only limited tickets available on-site at the Changi Exhibition Centre.
Saturday's visitors came to gawk at the aerial displays and the static display of 60 aircraft in the 100,000 sq m outdoor area, including military planes, passenger airliners and luxury business jets.
The air show, which is held every two years, is the world's third-largest, behind Paris' Le Bourget and Britain's Farnborough.
The longest queues formed to check out Singapore Airlines' venerable Boeing 747, which will soon make way for the Airbus 380 superjumbo, after nearly four decades of service.
Clerk Julia Sim, 29, was one of those who got to tour the Boeing plane.
She told The Sunday Times: 'It was a long wait but worth it. I was on board one of these more than five years ago. Seeing it today is like saying goodbye to it.'
Others, such as undergraduate Bao Xiao, 19, made a beeline for the American C-17 military aircraft on display.
'I waited for 11/2 hours, but it was worth it because I got to see the cockpit and the plane's rest area for the crew - where we got to sit and try it out for ourselves,' he said.
But while most were impressed by the air show, others were not too happy about the long wait for tours.
For maintenance planner Juraimie Amit, 29, arriving at 2pm meant that the tour times for the B747 jumbo were all snapped up.
But the freebies - such as decals and commemorative postcards - were a consolation, he said.
Other highly touted attractions such as Boeing's B787 Dreamliner and an executive jet belonging to actor Jackie Chan were absent, as they were on display only during trade days.
Military aircraft proved popular; the F-15 fighter jet had snaking queues waiting to board it for a photo opportunity.
Among the crowd was Ms Neha Patpatia, 30, an IT executive. 'I have been queueing for 30 minutes and am nowhere near the aircraft, but the other queues were so long we decided to go for this one,' she said.
She was with her husband, Mr Rajneesh Katyal, 33, also an IT executive, and their three-year-old son.
Other visitors who chose to forsake the queues got sneak peeks at aircraft interiors through openings carved at the sides of aircraft, or contented themselves by snapping pictures at close range.
Others, such as retiree Chan Cheow Huat, 67, were there just for the aerial displays.
Two foreign aerial-display teams - the Smokey Bandits from the Royal Malaysian Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force's Roulettes team - took to the air to deliver some crowd-pleasing thrills.
The aerial displays included a segment by the Republic of Singapore Air Force's F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, as well as the United States Air Force's C-17 military transport aircraft.
Mr Chan said: 'I came to see the military aeroplanes in action - it reminds me of my time in the army, so there is that bit of nostalgia there.'
source: http://www.straitstimes.com/The-Big-Story/The-Big-Story-3/Story/STIStory_768356.html
Already, some 50,000 people showed up for its first public day on Saturday, with another 50,000 expected on Sunday.
There are only limited tickets available on-site at the Changi Exhibition Centre.
The air show, which is held every two years, is the world's third-largest, behind Paris' Le Bourget and Britain's Farnborough.
The longest queues formed to check out Singapore Airlines' venerable Boeing 747, which will soon make way for the Airbus 380 superjumbo, after nearly four decades of service.
Clerk Julia Sim, 29, was one of those who got to tour the Boeing plane.
She told The Sunday Times: 'It was a long wait but worth it. I was on board one of these more than five years ago. Seeing it today is like saying goodbye to it.'
Others, such as undergraduate Bao Xiao, 19, made a beeline for the American C-17 military aircraft on display.
'I waited for 11/2 hours, but it was worth it because I got to see the cockpit and the plane's rest area for the crew - where we got to sit and try it out for ourselves,' he said.
But while most were impressed by the air show, others were not too happy about the long wait for tours.
For maintenance planner Juraimie Amit, 29, arriving at 2pm meant that the tour times for the B747 jumbo were all snapped up.
But the freebies - such as decals and commemorative postcards - were a consolation, he said.
Other highly touted attractions such as Boeing's B787 Dreamliner and an executive jet belonging to actor Jackie Chan were absent, as they were on display only during trade days.
Military aircraft proved popular; the F-15 fighter jet had snaking queues waiting to board it for a photo opportunity.
Among the crowd was Ms Neha Patpatia, 30, an IT executive. 'I have been queueing for 30 minutes and am nowhere near the aircraft, but the other queues were so long we decided to go for this one,' she said.
She was with her husband, Mr Rajneesh Katyal, 33, also an IT executive, and their three-year-old son.
Other visitors who chose to forsake the queues got sneak peeks at aircraft interiors through openings carved at the sides of aircraft, or contented themselves by snapping pictures at close range.
Others, such as retiree Chan Cheow Huat, 67, were there just for the aerial displays.
Two foreign aerial-display teams - the Smokey Bandits from the Royal Malaysian Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force's Roulettes team - took to the air to deliver some crowd-pleasing thrills.
The aerial displays included a segment by the Republic of Singapore Air Force's F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, as well as the United States Air Force's C-17 military transport aircraft.
Mr Chan said: 'I came to see the military aeroplanes in action - it reminds me of my time in the army, so there is that bit of nostalgia there.'
source: http://www.straitstimes.com/The-Big-Story/The-Big-Story-3/Story/STIStory_768356.html
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