Beautiful weather, great entertainment draw large crowd to West Milford air show

West Milford — The mountain air was crisp, the trees were colorful, the sky was blue and all was a go for the second attempt for the Greenwood Lake Airport’s Air Show and Car Show. “If it was easy, then everyone would do it,” said Tim Wagner, manager of the Greenwood Lake Airport who took a $100,000 hit when Hurricane Irene came through West Milford during the originally scheduled show. But Irene wasn't enough to stop a determined Wagner from rescheduling the air show in West Milford, one of North Jersey’s most important and historic small airports. This past weekend’s event featured performers who were scheduled to appear at the show in August, plus some new and exciting additions including a car and boat show. Before the pilots hit the skies the stage was busy with tribute acts of Abbott and Costello and Frank Sinatra. Several bands hit the stage throughout the weekend, and what’s a better way to see West Milford’s fall leaves than in a helicopter ride around the airport. This year West Milford had a special treat because the largest aerobatic team in the world - Team RV - came to strut their stuff in the air. The 12-aircraft team took to the crystal blue skies Saturday and Sunday, along with the famous Wing Walker Jane Wicker. In an interview with Wicker she said, "I love what I do. I could not image doing anything else." There were over 125 cars that showed to compete in the car show contest at the event. There was everything from a 1932 white pick-up truck to a 2011 Ford Mustang. "This is the third time coming to this show and it keeps getting better," said Amanda Ricker of Warwick, N.Y. "I have two sons: one who loves cars and one who one daydreams of becoming a pilot and what better event to spend together than this." The two-day event brought more than 7,000 people to the township. Wagner said he would like to thank the Township of West Milford police, fire, and first aid squad for their continued support of the event, and all of the volunteers, "without them, this would not have been possible."