An estimated crowd of 5,000 turned out to welcome the Thunderbirds back to F.E. Warren Air Force Base Wednesday.​

Cheyenne Frontier Days officials weren't quite sure how people would react to the show being back on base this year, but it appeared to go off without a hitch.

"I think it's better here than over at the community college," said Denver, Colorado resident Pat Joy.  "This is more like it should be, the Air Force base (and) Thunderbirds in kind of a correlation."​

"It makes perfect sense to be here at the air base," said Lafayette, Colorado resident Tom Corcroan.  "We can tell by all the energy of all the officers that we have met throughout the morning how excited they were to host the show."

It'd been 23 years since the base had hosted the show, but CFD Military Chairman Col. Brian Rico says "everything went well."

"We haven't really heard of negative feedback other than the folks that were probably stranded at the gate," said Rico.

"It went smooth," said Joy.  "How they parked the cars and moved all the spectators ... I think it worked out nice."

"It's just a proud day to be an American," said Corcroan.  "Being on a base, being with fellow officers, it's an honor."

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