The Coachella Valley skies were full of action Saturday as plane after plane took to the air during the sixth annual Jacqueline Cochran Air Show in Thermal, about 32 miles east of Palm Springs.

And for the thousands of people in attendance at the Thermal airport, where the event was held, there were plenty of aircraft in semi-clear sky.

Onlookers were wowed as American Bearcat and Japanese Zero fighter jets simulated a World War II dogfight.

Others gasped as a Zlin 50LX, an aerobatic sports plane, flew thousands of feet into the air before entering a free-fall dive that surely made many hearts beat much faster.

“My kids thought (a Red Bull MiG-17F, a fighter jet) was going to go into space,” Palm Desert resident Greg Wurz, 33, said as he stood inside a C-17 Globemaster III transport cargo plane.

He added that he “wouldn't want to try” flying long distance in the C-17, which is used for transporting military troops and vehicles.

Flying machines of all kinds could be seen at Saturday's show — some, with booming engines, could also be heard from miles away.

Many parked their vehicles on surrounding streets and watched the action from afar, but most attendees took in the action from the airfield.

As people took pictures next to the displayed aircraft and munched on shaved ice and french fries, others simply relaxed, finding shade under the parked airplanes' wings.

“I've never seen these airplanes; they're so big,” said Coachella resident Minerva Ochoa, 41. “We were in awe.”

And from what organizers could tell, the attendance surpassed last year's head count of more than 35,000.

“We definitely think it's more than last year,” air show Marketing manager Veronica Helgeland said.

“It's a successful event from our perspective.”

One of the best parts of Saturday's one-day event was that it was free to the public.

“It's wonderful they're thinking of the economy and of the children,” Ochoa said.