Irvine, Tustin Treated to a WWII Air Show

Some Irvine and Tustin residents were treated to an air show Thursday night when vintage planes flying in formation for a movie filming buzzed their neighborhoods.

Although some people called police to complain about the noise, most were drawn outdoors to watch the sky in awe.

“It’s always fun to see the old war birds,” said Chris Rutland, a pilot who lives in Irvine’s Northwood neighborhood. He said the green planes appeared to be World War II-era B-25 bombers.

“It was pretty exciting to hear big radial engines flying overhead,” he said. “You just don’t get that anymore.”

Four planes appeared about 8 p.m. flying solo and in chevron-style, wing-on-wing formations for about 20 minutes, Rutland said. “There were twin engines, twin vertical tails, . . . beautiful.”

He estimated that the planes were sometimes as low as 500 feet. The noise, he said, was “thunderous. It was better than the air show. It was really loud, but I didn’t care.”

He said many of his neighbors, some with cameras, stood in their yards to watch the twilight flights.

Not everyone was pleased, however.

Tustin and Irvine police and the Federal Aviation Administration logged more than 100 complaint calls, officials said.

“One lady complained of broken dishes,” Irvine police spokesman Jim Potts said.

The flights, which had government approval, are for a $145-million film about Pearl Harbor, Potts said. The planes took off from the former Tustin Marine Corps Air Station and will be flying again today, he said.