It was a celebration 100 years in the making.

Beautiful weather and a chance to see aviation history in action brought more than 15,000 people to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Saturday for the Centennial of Naval Aviation event.

From vintage World War II aircraft to today’s modern aviation marvels, people had a chance to get up close and personal with the planes and the people who fly them. The opportunity brought a steady flow of folks of all ages to the Ault Field base, where the bulk of the centennial events took place.

Navy officials were very pleased with the turnout.

“Saturday was a great day to reflect on the proud heritage of 100 years of naval aviation — Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard — and experience firsthand the community’s interest in and steadfast support of NAS Whidbey Island,” said public affairs spokeswoman Kimberly Martin.

Those attending ranged from active duty military members to veterans to people who just love planes.

“I’m not a pilot, but I built models of every one of these when I was a kid,” said Albert Carreras of Gig Harbor. “My favorite was the PBY Catalina.”

Friends Bob Meier and Roland Garbs are both Army veterans. They live in the same neighborhood in Anacortes, and wanted to get a closer look at the planes they see regularly overhead.

“We’re big supporters of the military,” said Meier. “This is a great chance to see on the ground what we see flying over us all the time. And I enjoy the P-3 — I think I flew on one once.”

“It’s great — I get to kick the tires on these old aircraft. It’s almost like shopping for a car,” laughed Garbs

The Latta family of Oak Harbor had a simple reason for their visit.

“Are you kidding? Look around — it’s a chance to look at American history,” said L.D. Latta, who was there with his wife, Lisa, and their two children, Lindsey, 6, and Lucas, 14. “For them to do this, it’s really neat.”

“I got to put on a parachute, which was kind of scary,” said Lucas of his experience on the P-3C Orion. “It’s scary because they actually jump out of these things. I was surprised at how heavy the parachute was, too.”

“Being out here and being here watching the guys up in the cockpit was amazing,” said Lisa.

“It’s amazing to see all the different vintages of airplanes all in one spot,” said Nancy Atkinson of Maple Valley. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to view them and be up so close.”

And people did get close. They were climbing on wings, sitting in cockpits, climbing into the belly of a C-130 and just about anything else they were given an opportunity to explore.

But it wasn’t just visitors to the base who were having fun. Personnel on duty at both the aircraft and at the displays in Hangar 1 said it was interesting listening to some of the stories shared by aviation old-timers.

“It’s been interesting hearing all the old war stories and seeing how rough it was then,” said Aviation Structural Mechanic Chief Petty Officer Jason Sjodin, with Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 137. “It’s a whole different world these days.”

“To get to share in this anniversary is pretty amazing,” said Naval Air Crewman First Class Geoffrey Stanford.

“It’s a great job,” said Lt. Cmdr. Dennis Rippy, who was there with VX-31 from Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. “I’m glad to be up here telling people what we’re doing.”

Yeoman Second Class Derek Gailey was also on duty.

“It’s cool, with all the old planes and new planes,” he said. “You don’t see this every day.”

Several different aircraft were on display, and many of the owners, pilots and crew were on hand to answer questions about their particular aircraft, like Mike Lawrence of Woodinville, who was there polishing the North American T-28 Trojan owned by Roger Collins.

“This plane was originally designed as a trainer, but in Vietnam, it was used as an attack plane,” explained Lawrence. “They needed something low and slow to support the ground troops.”

The A-3 Skywarrior aircraft was on display, and members of the A-3 Skywarrior Whidbey Memorial were there as well, helping to raise awareness of the group’s fundraising efforts and singing the praises of “the whale.”

“It’s a great-flying airplane,” Lanny Kee called out to passers-by. “It looks as nice as it is.”

While the centennial event wasn’t supposed to be an air show, there were a few takeoffs and landings with some fly-bys in between. A legacy flight later in the afternoon was also a crowd-pleaser. The old — an AD-1 Skyraider from the Heritage Flight Museum in Bellingham — and the new — a F/A-18 Hornet from VFA-122, NAS Lemoore — took to the sky together over Ault Field, providing a fitting demonstration of what the celebration was about.

While the aircraft took center stage, there were plenty of other activities. Many gathered to hear speakers present their Tales of Naval Aviation and to look at the squadron displays and the specialty quilts created for the centennial.

NASWI Search and Rescue did demonstrations on both Ault Field and Seaplane Base, there were classic cars to look at and members of Whidbey Island Radio Control Society gave demonstrations with miniature versions of the planes on display.

There was also plenty for children to do — Predators of the Heart brought shivers and grins with its display of animals and reptiles, and the Seattle Museum of Flight’s Flying Gizmo show captured children’s imagination. No matter what the age, there was something of interest to just about everyone.

Perhaps 87-year-old World War II Seige of Bastogne veteran, Roy McWilliams, summed the day up the best:

“I think this was an exceptional day for the Navy.”