WARRENTON – Lt. Adam Davenport, of the U.S. Coast Guard, loves helping people.

“We’re all humanitarians,” said Davenport, of his job as a rescue pilot. “We’re all drawn to this for those same reasons.”

He and fellow Coast Guard personnel entertained and informed the public at the annual Coast Guard and Port of Astoria air show and open house.

Scattered showers and winds kept some of the birds out of the sky Saturday, but for those that were brave and near, the horizon sparkled with flight, and, well, really cool gear.

The Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk drew an early crowd that flocked to the bird’s tempting controls and sleek features.

Davenport stood nearby fielding questions and politely requesting that children not push this button or flip that switch.

“Don’t pull on those. Don’t push any buttons,” Davenport said, again and again.

The most frequent question he was asked? “Are those guns?”

“No,” Davenport said, pointing to machine-gun like protrusions at the nose of the craft. “We’re not armed.”

That is unless the newly created Maritime Safety and Security Team happens to be aboard. The six-man, heavily-armed teams were created by the Department of Homeland Security as a quick-response team that can board and commandeer seafaring vessels with overwhelming force.

“It’s a growing part of what we do,” said Davenport.

The open house Saturday at the Astoria Regional Airport included demonstrations and exhibitions by the Coast Guard’s Air Station Astoria, Station Cape Disappointment, the Oregon Army National Guard, the Oregon Air National Guard, and others.

Antique and vintage planes were also on display. Brad Hill decided to forgo most gear altogether and take wing with his gas-powered paraglider. He has puttered the thing up to 6,000 feet. But Hill has caught a “thermal,” or a column of warm rising air, all the way up to 15,000 feet.

“I like it a lot better when the engine is turned off,” smiled Hill.

Army Spec. John Rupert and Spec. Scott Crader shuffled teeth-clenched families and kids around in the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier.

“It feels like you’re going a lot faster than you really are,” said Crader of the tank-like treaded vehicle.

It was serious stuff, but one fun element crept in. Near the day’s end, Davenport took over the public address system and asked the owner of a rust-colored hatchback to “please move their vehicle because it was parked too close to a chopper refueling station.”

Davenport warned again and again. Finally, saying that the owner of the car “had left them little choice,” the Coast Guard’s Jayhawk appeared on the horizon. Attached to its underbelly was a rust-colored hatchback.

“We’re going to try and set it down real gently,” joked Davenport.

Moments later, the string was cut and the car dropped with a thud. A puff of dust rose around the carcass.

It was all a planned joke, of course.