(The brief video shows an F-22 Raptor flying formation with a vintage P-51 Mustang.)

The Miramar Air Show celebrated a half century of manned space flight over the weekend, a tip of the cap to former Marine fighter pilot John Glenn, who went on to become the first American to orbit Earth. The tribute turned out to be more timely than anyone could have guessed. Midway through Sunday's show, an announcer told a crowd of 100,000 people that someone else was pushing the boundaries of flight. Austrian Felix Baumgartner had just jumped from a balloon traveling 24 miles above earth. He parachuted softly to the ground, landing in the wide open spaces of New Mexico.

The announcement came while a jet was crackling overhead at Miramar, which also was fitting; Sunday was the 65th anniversary of the day that test pilot Chuck Yeager became the first human to break the sound barrier in an aircraft. The achievement would lead to extraordinary advances in powered flight. Yeager's feat hasn't been forgotten. Volunteers at the San Diego Air & Space Museum are building a full-size replica of the Bell X-1 that Yeager rode into history. It will go on display in December.

Sunday's wrap-up of the three-day Miramar Air Show highlighted such bravado. But the focus, as always, was on demonstrating Navy, Marine and Air Force aerial firepower. The spectators who snaked through the base's gates in long lines of traffic got to see everything from a vintage P-51 long-range fighter-bomber to the MV-22 Osprey to blindingly fast F-22 Raptor and FA-18 Super Hornet. Soldiers, sailors and Marines also dropped from the sky as the military showed off its skilled at precision parachuting. The reaction could be seen in the reaction of a little boy who stood with his father on the flight line. He looked up, stuck his fingers in his ears to block the shriek of jets, and smiled.

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'Sky kings' and a skydiver cap day of wonder

SAN DIEGO ---- The 57th annual Miramar Air Show, this year featuring the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels flying squadron and a tribute to space flight, will finish up a three-day run today at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.

More than 700,000 airshow fans turn out each year for the free event, which opened Oct. 12 and concludes with an all-day show from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.

This year's air show celebrates Miramar's occupants with the theme "Marines in Flight: Celebrating 50 Years of Space Exploration." Special static exhibits will honor the U.S. Marine aviators who made history in space, including retired senator and astronaut John Glenn and current NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.

Highlighting today's show will be the U.S. Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, better known as the Blue Angels. Their F/A-18 Hornets will close the show around 3 p.m.

Other military acts scheduled to perform are the Navy's F/A-18 Super Hornet, an F-22 Raptor stealth plane, an AV-8B Harrier (capable of vertical liftoff), the Marine Air-Ground Task Force demonstration team, the U.S. Army's Golden Knights parachute team and the Navy's Leap Frogs jump team. There will also be legacy flight formations, showing state-of-the-art aircraft flying together with vintage fighter aircraft.

Civilian performers include the Patriots Jet Team, a flying tribute to Bob Hoover, Sean Tucker's "Oracle Challenger," John Collver's AT-6 Wardog, Bret Willat's Sailplane, hang glider Dan Buchanan, stunt pilot Gregory Colyer, Hawker Beechcraft's Texan II Demo plane and Smoke-n-Thunder, a car that races down the tarmac spouting 20-foot flames from its afterburners. There will also be a Red Bull helicopter, the Silver Wings wingwalking team, a radio-controlled plane demonstration and many more.

On the ground, patrons are invited to tour more than 100 aircraft, military vehicles, weapons and hardware systems on display at the airfield. There will also be a consumer fair, simulator rides, a military recruiters' fair and food, beverages and gifts for sale.

Because of heightened security, on-base visitors should come prepared. Food and nonalcoholic beverages (no glass bottles) are allowed in, but large coolers, backpacks and large bags must stay in the car. All bags will be searched. No pets, bikes, skateboards, skates or scooters are allowed.

All three gates will be open for air show visitors. Drivers can enter through the North and West gates on Miramar Road, or through the East/Main gate off Interstate 15 or Kearny Villa Road. The South Gate, off Harris Plant Road, is for preferred parking only. Parking is prohibited along the Interstate 15 corridor, and violators will be ticketed.

Gates open to the public at 8 a.m. Visitors are advised to bring blankets, beach chairs and shade umbrellas. Preferred and bleacher seating is available for an additional charge.

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Miramar Air Show ready to fly out of town

LAS CRUCES Less than 10 years ago, all the talk about the commercial space flight industry was conceptual. Today, it's about the five Ws who, what, where, when and why.

New Mexico has been a major player in the growth of the industry. It is preparing to start operations of Spaceport America, which is supposed to signal the start of everyday people having opportunities to fly commercially into space. Commercial space flight has already started, with cargo and payloads delivered to the International Space Station this summer.

To keep the synergy going, commercial space flight leaders will gather in Las Cruces this week for the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight. The symposium will be a two-day affair, Wednesday and Thursday at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road, but other events associated with the symposium will also be conducted Tuesday and Friday.

"The personal and commercial space flight industry has come a long way since those early days," said Pat Hynes, symposium chairwoman, and director of the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium. "We have again brought together some of the most pre-eminent people in the world who are part of this exciting industry to share their knowledge, insights and visions."

A veritable who's who of personal and commercial space flight industry will be involved in this year's symposium. There will be 40 speakers at the conference, including Lori Garver,

Gov. Susana Martinez, and White Sands Missile Range commander Brig. Gen. Gwen Bingham will also be keynote speakers during the symposium. Bingham's speech, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, will be her first public appearance in Las Cruces since taking command at WSMR last month.

Martinez's speech will be at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

"The list of people who will be speaking is impressive," Hynes said. "In this day and time, when the economy has prompted so many to curtail travel and appearances at conferences or symposiums, their willingness to come and participate says a lot about how much, and how well, this industry is progressing. The marketplace has been evolving, things have changed enormously."

Las Crucens Raja Taylor has attended several past symposiums, and said every speech and panel discussion is interesting.

"There's no way you could come from a symposium and not learned something," Taylor said. "Because so much of this has only been conceptual until now, it's fascinating to realize how far we've come in such a short period of time and where all of this new technology is going."

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Space flight leaders gather in Las Cruces for symposium