In many ways, aviation changed the world—advancing travel, aiding in combat and of course, fulfilling humanity's dream to fly.

On Saturday, all things aviation came to a head with the return of Duluth’s highly anticipated Air Show.

"We are so excited that it is finally here,"  Jodi Grayson, Media Director said. “Judging by the crowd today, it's going to be a record crowd."

The crowd of 50,000 plus ranged in ages from babies to veterans in the aviation industry, and everyone in between.

Dominique Kirkendoll of Becker brought her three year old son Carter to see the jets for the very first time.

“He loves airplanes and helicopters,” Kirkendoll said. “He is loving it so far.”

Zaakir Hassan of Marshall also attended for the first time with friends. He said aviation has long been a passion of his.

“It’s really cool seeing how far the technology has come. I mean, in the grand scheme of things, from the Wright Brothers to now,” Hassan said.

Pilots too, weighed in on the festivities. Minnesota native Nick Proulx said he was happy to be in his home state putting on a display for the public.

“It’s a blast. The thing that’s great about an air show is that we can do almost anything we want to. The air space is just opened up for us, so it’s a lot of fun, a lot of freedom up there,” Proulx said.

Performances lasted throughout the day with a highly anticipated grand finale from the US Navy's Blue Angels.

The Air Show returned this year after being cancelled last year as a result of the pandemic.

More performances will take place on Sunday. Those who would like to buy tickets can do so here.

To see the original report and read related stories, follow this link to the WDIO-TV website. https://www.wdio.com/duluth-minnesota-news/duluth-air-show-returns-/6153276/