ANDERSON, SC — An estimated 30,000 people swamped the Anderson Regional Airport for a few hours Wednesday to watch Snowbirds Over Anderson II.

The crowd was treated to a free, 2.5-hour air show that offered displays by the gamut of aircraft. There were tiny stunt planes and hulking jetfighters. There was a parachute team and even a vintage stunt biplane.

What they all had in common was a willingness to push the envelope in the skies above Anderson.

Beginning at 3:30 p.m., Team RV, a group of 11 civilian pilots flying single-seat prop planes they'd built themselves, took off and grabbed altitude before buzzing the crowd, trailing smoke.

For the next 10 minutes they performed a series of stunts, flying in tight formations before landing and taxiing, like a family of multicolored ducks, back to their perches on the tarmac while stunt pilot Greg Connell put the fabric-covered wings of his Pitt Special Biplane to the test. Connell performed barrel rolls and Split-S maneuvers, turning his red-and-white aircraft into a one-plane circus.

Each act seemed willing to upstage the next, it seemed, as Gary Ward, flying his MX-2 stunt plane, followed Connell.

"You couldn't throw up flying with Gary Ward," show emcee Hugh Oldham said over the booming loudspeakers to the crowd. "You wouldn't know which way 'up' is."

Ward's hammerhead rolls and outside loops had several spectators cringing in their lawn chairs.

"If he gets any closer to the ground, he's gonna need bigger tires," one spectator said between gasps.

After Ward, the crowd was treated to the sight of the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute team's C-31 transport plane lumbering at 4,300 feet above the airport tarmac.

Emerging from a cloud bank 4,300 feet above the airport, the U.S. Army Golden Knights C-31 transport disgorged two members of the Golden Knights Parachute Team.

Falling through space trailing red smoke, one jumper flew the flag of the United States, while the other flew the Canadian Flag. Over the loudspeakers, event organizers played the national anthem of both countries in tribute to the men and women of the United States and Canadian Armed Forces.

A tiny X marked the spot where, several minutes later, each member of the team landed on cue.

Tim Fowler, who drove his children Kurtis, Austin and Victoria to the show from Ninety Six, stood near the edge of the throng a few feet from where the Golden Knights touched down.

Fowler said the drive from Ninety Six was worth it.

"This show is totally worth the drive," he said.

And more was in store.

Two hundred yards from Fowler and his children, an A-10 Thunderbolt II Warthog jet fighter warmed up it's massive turbine engines before taking off.

"That plane over there looks like it can eat anything up," Kurtis Fowler said of the A-10 before it took to the air.

The jetfighter was flown by Capt. JohnnIE "Rusty" Green of the United States Air Force. Green, a combat veteran with 117 missions in Afghanistan, wowed the crowd with high-speed passes and high-G turns. The manuevers were designed to show people how a 35,000-pound A-10 performs in combat situations in the mountains of Afghanistan, where air space is limited.

"Basically, the A-10 is flying tank," Green said before the show.

"It's a flying gun platform," he said while motioning to the gruesome-looking, 30 mm Gatlin gun under the plane's nose.

Once back on the ground, Green joined his A-10 pilot comrades while they watched the Canadian Forces Snowbirds take flight.

The Snowbirds, whose aerobatic stunts flying in tight formations were likened to an "airborn ballet" by event organizer Hugh Oldham, stayed airborne for roughly 30 minutes.

Green, who said he'd never seen the Snowbirds perform, spoke volumes about the skill of the Canadian pilots when he said, simply, "I'm really impressed."

Following the show, Oldham said he was elated with the show, and the turnout.

"Today has been amazing," he said. "Look at all the cars parked in the airfield and around the airport. It's been a good show, and I'm so thankful for all the people who donated the funds needed to pull it all together, and all the volunteers who came out to help."

U.S. Army Sgt. Laura Dickmeyer, 23, from Abilene, Texas, is a member of the Golden Knights team. Dickmeyer also said she was impressed with the crowds and the Anderson community.

"For a weekday show, this is an impressive turnout. This community has really rolled out their red carpet for us," Dickmeyer said.

ANDERSON, SC — Orian Rugs celebrated its 30th anniversary Wednesday, and company officials said they are happy about the rug manufacturer's growth in the midst of a poor economy.

Thirty-one new employees already have been hired in 2009, and the company now employs about 330 people, said Wim de Pape, the chief operating officer of Orian Rugs in Anderson. The company brought in $56 million is gross sales in 2008 and hired 56 new employees that same year, he said.

"We want to stay here in Anderson to expand and grow our business," de Pape said. "We are competing in a global market."

Orian Rugs also celebrated the anniversary by donating 30 trees to the Anderson Habitat for Humanity and 30 rugs to Anderson School District 5, which is based in the city of Anderson.

The company manufactures machine-woven rugs that are sold to retailers in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It is a division of McThree Industries, a worldwide manufacturer of rugs and carpets with more than 750 employees in the United States and Belgium. The owners of Orian, Lucien Vanwynsberghe and Lieven Santens, flew to Anderson from Belgium to be a part of the festivities Wednesday.

"We made the investment, and we are very happy and pleased we made it," Vanwynsberghe said. "We are here to celebrate 30 years of successful business."

More than 85 people came out to the celebration including Anderson County employees and about 50 Orian employees. The ceremony concluded with a recognition of the employees who worked at the company for more than 20 years and a champagne toast.

Bob Waldrep, an Anderson County Council member, said Orian is a treasure to the county.

"One reason Orian came here is we have good people and training," he said. "We want to be as supportive of you as we can in every way."

Libby Winkler, the director of Habitat for Humanity, accepted Wednesday a few of the trees that will be donated to the organization. They will be planted at the sites of future housing projects, including those on Woodland Way and Hampton Street in Anderson County, she said.

Eighteen of the rugs donated to District 5 will go to the 18 semifinalists for 2008-09 teacher of the year honors in the district, according to company officials. Five of the district Employee of the Year award winners also will each receive a rug from Orian.

The company will donate seven rugs to the future Hospitality House, a student-run bed-and- breakfast at the Hanna-Westside Extension Campus in Anderson.

District 5 Superintendent Betty Bagley said the rug donation from Orian was a great way for the company to be a partner of teachers and students. Bagley accepted gift certificates for the rugs from Orian officials.