High-flying action continues in Rome Sunday

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Tora echelon (Courtesy: Wings Over North Georgia)

This weekend is perfect for an air show in North Georgia. Thousands have already flocked to Rome to see some high-flying action.

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The Wings Over North Georgia Air Show runs through Sunday. The 2-day event touts itself as the premier fall family event in northwest Georgia.

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More than 28,000 spectators attended the opening day festivities which included performances by the F-22 Raptor and A-10 Warthog Demo Teams, the US SOCOM Para-Commandos, Patty Wagstaff, and more.

The air show sent FOX 5 News videos of some of Saturday’s events which kicked off with a parade of veterans honoring all those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

The parade happens each day and veterans, as well as active duty service members, are welcome to participate.

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Things then took the sky over Richard Russell Airport with Buck Roetman and his highly modified Pitts S2S.

They strapped a GoPro to the wing of the Sharpsburg, Georgia resident’s plane.

His bright yellow plane wasn’t hard to spot from the ground as he effortlessly tumbled his plane through the air.

Roetman goes so fast his smoke trail seems to have a hard time keeping up.

His plane is equipped with a 375+ horsepower Lycoming engine and does some of his tricks traveling well past 200 mph.

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Also taking to the skies Saturday was Michael Goulian who is fresh off the heels of a championship win during the Red Bull Air races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend.

That Brickyard win puts Goulian in a position for a possible international series win in Texas during the final race of the season in November.

He performs in an Extra 330SC. And while the plane touts the familiar silver, blue, and gold paint scheme more closely associated with the Goodyear Blimp, his plane certainly doesn’t travel like one during his dizzying array of aerial acrobatic stunts.

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The tributes to veterans of past wars continue high over Rome with “Tora! Tora! Tora!”

The ensemble performance reenacts the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

The powerful tribute combines warbird aircraft demonstrating dynamic military attack maneuvers, pyrotechnics, actual 1941 radio accounts, and a live narrative of the action.

The tribute holds particular significance as this weekend is the 243 birthday of the U.S. Navy.

Of course, the videos provided by Wings Over North Georgia are nothing like seeing it from the ground and FOX 5 Storm Team Meteorologist Ryan Beesley said Sunday will be a little bit cloudier, but it should still be as nice as Saturday.

The air show runs through Sunday evening at the Richard Russell Airport located at 304 Russell Field Road in Rome, Georgia.

Ticket prices vary depending on the package and which parking lot, but military, police, EMS, and firefighters do get a discount. Advance tickets are cheaper, so check them out and find out more about the air show online at wingsovernorthgeorgia.com.