From the truly astonishing feats of aerial stunts, to the impressive hardware (a slew of state-of-the-art military jets) to the you-couldn't have-asked-for better weather, the event was a winner.

But the most exciting aspect of the six-hour aerial extravaganza that was staged in the skies above the beach was what it did for Atlantic City. In nutshell, the Air Show put the lie to the slander that AyCee is a minor-league town. Any place that can stage a single-day bash that draws an estimated 700,000 people without any serious incidents (save for the expected traffic tangles) is hardly second-rate.

My almost 50 years' worth of Atlantic City memories do not include anywhere near the crowds that swarmed the Boardwalk and beach Wednesday. I simply have never seen so many people at one time along the Great Wood Way and adjacent strand. And those people weren't just gazing heavenward. They were spending money at restaurants (the Trump Plaza Beach Bar was jammed by 11 a.m.), concession stands and stores.

Everyone involved--the Borgata folks, those who work for the Chamber of Commerce and Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority, the police force and other municipal entities--should feel justifiably proud about the glorious event they mounted. But, it appears, they do have a two-fold challenge:

To replicate--and surpass--this year's Air Show in '09, and to conjure another public mega-event that will further push Atlantic City along the road to becoming a globally recognized destination.