All eyes were on the sky when the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds flew into the Flathead Valley Thursday afternoon.

Vehicles lined both sides of U.S. 2 near Glacier Park International Airport, watching the F-16 demonstration team soar overhead. 

The excitement already being displayed for the elite team is a precursor of what’s to come this weekend as the Mountain Madness Air Show gets underway. It’s been nine years since the last air show in the Flathead Valley, and this year’s show is more special than most because Kalispell’s own Maj. Jason Curtis is the No. 6 opposing solo pilot.

Curtis, a 1999 Flathead High School graduate, is speaking to Flathead students during an assembly this morning at the high school. At 10 a.m. he will speak at Flathead Valley Community College, another school he attended here.

This evening, he will sign autographs during a free pre-flight party from 5 to 9 p.m. at Depot Park in Kalispell.

Curtis was the star of a media event staged Thursday on the airport tarmac shortly after the team arrived.

He said his schedule will be tight over the weekend, but that he “will take every waking second to shake a few hands and talk to kids and tell them about my dream,” he said.

Answering questions from reporters, Curtis said his overriding message is “if you can dream it, you can do it.

“I don’t take a single second for granted,” he said about his role as one of the pilots who will perform during the show. “I treat every flight like my first and also like my last ... it’s all about mental clarity and focus.”

Curtis promised there will be “a lot of thrills” at the Mountain Madness Air Show. The F-16s reach speeds of more than 1,000 miles per hour.

As one of the F-16s took off and headed straight up, Curtis cast his eyes upward along with other spectators.

“It’s a great feeling to put the jet on its tail like that, to watch the world fall away,” he told a group of reporters.

About 30,000 spectators are expected to attend the air show this weekend.

Box seats that give spectators special viewing opportunities have been selling fast over the past few days, air-show publicist Courtenay Sprunger said. About 84 percent of the 1,525 box seats available had been sold by late Thursday.

Box seats, including a chair, shade and front-row viewing, are available for $40. VIP tickets are available for $100 and include front-line seating, access to the VIP area and complimentary food and beverage.

Tickets for the two-day event are available at www.montanaairshow.com. 

Advance ticket prices are $20 for adults and $15 for youth ages five to 13. Tickets purchased at the gate will be $25 for adults and $20 for youth. Children 4 and under will be admitted for free. A Family Fun Four Pack, valued at $70, will be offered online for $55. This pack includes two adult general admission tickets and two youth tickets. 

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.