Despite early showers and warnings of thunderstorms, the second day of the Mountain Madness Air Show took off Sunday with only slight delays as the weather improved.

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds were able to take off into the cloudy skies shortly after 3 p.m. and every performer got to fly during Sunday’s program.

Courtenay Sprunger, public relations manager for the show, said things went swimmingly.

“I think, overall, the weather behaved itself,” she said. “There was a good crowd and it was good weather. It wasn’t too hot, so people could enjoy themselves.”

While the first day was partly cloudy, Sunday was overcast with intermittent showers before the scheduled flights. The brief rain and commercial flights pushed the start time back 40 minutes for scheduled performers.

Sprunger said there were some issues with special needs parking that the air-show group would look at. But for the first show in the Flathead Valley in nine years, she said she felt Mountain Madness was accommodating.

“We saw some opportunities to grown and learn,” Sprunger said. 

Thousands of aviation fans came to the second day, in spite of the rain. The major attraction, the Thunderbirds, was headlined by pilot No. 6, Maj. Jason Curtis.

Curtis, a Flathead High School graduate, gave a local touch to the massive event. Sprunger said he was a draw in his own right.

“People are just thrilled, it’s so fun to listen to him announce from the cockpit,” she said. “Montana is just one big, small town and we kind of look out for each other. There’s that sense of community.”

Total attendance numbers had not been tabulated yet, but organizers were optimistic they reached the goal of 30,000 attendees.

“Montanans are hardy,” Sprunger said. “They’ll deal with it to do something fun.”

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.