CONTINENTAL. Divide 34 AIR SHOWS

Transcription

1 CONTINENTAL Divide 34 AIR SHOWS

2 by Meredith Saini While air show fans in California are still fast asleep in their beds dreaming of lomcevaks and funnel cake, somewhere in Europe a young boy squeals with delight as his hero roars overhead and the sweet smell of colored smoke wafts across the tip of his sunburned nose. Much like North America, the European air show season begins in April and continues throughout western and central Europe right through October except the stars of the show in Europe face some unique operational challenges that their North American peers do not. First, consider that the distance from London to Paris is about 220 miles, or roughly the distance from Bloomington, Illinois to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. On most air show weekends, an air show performer flying through largely uncontrolled airspace from Central Illinois Regional to Wittman Regional would have a comparatively easy trip over lowlands and prairie. Topping the tanks on arrival will cost about $2.50 a gallon a bit cheaper than most major metropolitan area FBOs. Now, take an air show pilot based in London traveling to a show in Paris, or perhaps Rome or Brussels. Before departing, the pilot needs to have received permission from the other country s civil aviation authorities to fly aerobatics there. (In Europe, there is no standardized Aerobatic Competency Evaluation program, so for the most part each country has its own requirements and there s very little standardization from one country to the next.) The pilot will likely have to pay route charges to the nations whose airspace he traverses on his way to the show site. And, upon arrival, a gallon of avgas will cost about $7. These factors make it difficult for some air show pilots to travel outside of their native countries for work, limiting the number of available air shows and the pilots opportunities for revenue. This is especially true for warbirds, whose age, condition and appetite for fuel keep them on a short leash. Jane Larcombe, curator of The Fighter Collection at the Imperial War Museum, located at Duxford Airfield in Cambridgeshire, England, said last year their show planes traveled to just four events outside of England, but appeared in about 20 domestic shows. Gilbert Buekenberghs, chairman of the European Airshow Council (EAC) the ICAS sister organization in Europe said that military jet teams are a hot commodity at European air shows, just as they are throughout the United States and Canada. It is a special item for the public, he said. A team is unique in its presentation and skills. The formations, their solos, the continuous spectacle in the air. While each team has its strengths, Buekenberghs said that in his opinion the British Royal Air Force s Red Arrows have the most consistent performances; the Patrouille de France are the most creative and innovative; the Italian Frecce Tricolori are the most dynamic and emotional; and the Patrouille Suisse are the most accurate and precise like their watches! The Red Arrows have performed more than 3,800 shows in 52 countries, flying 83 shows in The team flies Hawk T1A jets in a nine-ship formation, with each pilot assuming the same position in the formation for the entire three year period. Each pilot must have 1,500 hours of flying time to qualify and, once a Red Arrow, stays with the team for three years and then transitions back to an operational Royal Air Force squadron. The Patrouille de France fly a formation of eight twin-engine Dassault/Breguet Alpha Jets, painted in the French flag s blue, white and red (with show smoke to match). The Frecce Tricolori (which means three-colored arrows in Italian) operate ten Aermacchi MB-339 jet trainers nine in formation and one solo making them the largest military performance jet squadron in the world. Lead pilot Captain Massimo Tammaro, speaking from the team s home base in Rivolto, said that the team (Left) The British Red Arrows fly the British Aerospace Hawk T1A jet trainer in a nine-ship formation and typically fly more than 80 performances each year. (Below) The Italian Frecce Tricolori operate ten Aermacchi MB-339 jet trainers.

3 The Patrouille Suisse is a six-ship jet formation team that flies the Northrop F-5 E Tiger. Unlike most other military jet teams, the Swiss team's commander leads the 18-minute air show performance from the ground where he closely monitors all aspects of the team's performance. tary jets. According to Besenyei, a pilot flying a 4-ton fighter jet at 400 knots in military formation has the same limitations as a solo pilot flying a sprightly, 900-pound Pitts Special across air show center at 150 knots. In the United States [and Canada] there is a very good system, Besenyei said. The limit of altitude for pilots is not the same for everyone. Besenyei said that, in Europe, a one-size-fits all approach to air show safety punishes smaller aircraft that can operate with greater margins at lower altitudes than heavier jets. [An air show pilot can fly] the most spectacular [air show performance] if you fly low and close, he said. Without that ability, we lose the interest of the public. For me, the best [kind of show] is the small aero club show, at a small airfield with a short public line, said Besenyei, reflecting on the kind of air shows he prefers to participate in. My program can be very compact, very tight. At press time, Besenyei was set to fly his Extra 300 at the Al Ain Aerobatics Show, held January in the United Arab Emirates. Jurgis Kairys, an aeronautical engineer from Lithuania, was also slated to appear in Juka, the 400-hp piston single he designed and built himself. Other popular acts in Europe include French aviator Christian Moullec, who delights crowds by coaxing a dozen geese to follow in trail behind his ultralight. More than just an air show stunt, the act demonstrates Moullec s success in training geese to alter their migratory path away from areas where they have been threatened by hunters. During a performance by The Utterly Butterly wing walkers, named after a brand of English candy, glamorous Aerobabes brave wind speeds of up to 140 mph, waving from the top wing as awesome, smoke generating 1940 s Boeing Stearman biplanes, roar through the skies, according to the team s website. The pilots pull up to +4 g s as they carry the women through loops, rolls and stalls and something called the mirror formation, where one aircraft flies inverted with a second close underneath, so the wing walkers can touch hands. WE HANDLE THIS. BIG AIRSHOW AIRBOSS-OPERATIONS-BRIEFINGS-NARRATION RALPH ROYCE A IR P ROSR Y OU HANDLE THIS. YOU HANDLE THIS. BIG CROWD LARRY STRAIN airboss@lsfm.org airpros@cfl.rr.com 38 AIR SHOWS

4 Lithuanian air show performer Jurgys Kairys is one of Europe's most popular civilian pilots. A former member of the Soviet national aerobatic team, Kairys helped develop the Sukhoi 26/29/31 series of Russian-built aerobatic aircraft. More recently, he has developed his own aircraft, a Sukhoi-type derivative that he calls the Juka 400. Kairys is shown here flying under a bridge over the Nevis River in Vilnius, Lithuania. Kairys said that one of the biggest differences he sees between European and North American air show performers is the extent to which they are willing to push the envelope. I never saw -10/+10 g s in American shows, he said. For me, I can go, no problem. When I am starting to do my display, I like to wake up the public, said Kairys. Each time, people know I am coming with some surprises. One of his favorite moves is a down snap rotation, a diving spin at two rotations per second. One European pilot who has lived the air show life on both sides of the Atlantic is Nikolai Timofeev of Ocala, Florida. He runs Hi-Tech Aerobatics Ltd., providing advanced training for competition pilots and teams in a Su-26 and a Su-29. With two mechanics on staff, his company also services Sukhoi and Yak aircraft. As a young man coming of age in Russia, Timofeev received his aviation training from a government-sponsored program. It was almost free. Nobody had money; everybody was equally poor, he said, lamenting the days under Soviet rule, when pilots were groomed to be competitors, similar to how young boys and girls were chosen to be future Olympic stars. So, according to the national plan, Timofeev flew with the Russian military team from , advancing his skill in the Yak 50 and 55 and later the Su-31. The preparation was great, all this cheap aviation education. But the system doesn t work. I cannot see myself in Russia right now. In 2000, Timofeev emigrated to the United States with his wife and two teenage children, who both now attend the University of Florida. He says he considered flying aerobatics in Australia and Brazil, where the weather is also favorable, but finally settled on Florida. It s the best place in the world to fly, he said. k Specializing in Crowd Control Stable and Attractive Privacy Materials and White PVC for Special Areas Flexible Cost Depending on Your Event Needs Well-liked by Air Show Organizers and the FAA Available Throughout the U.S. and Canada FENCE SERVICES, INC. BILL MORRISON / aaafence@mindspring.com or fencemanfl@yahoo.com 40 AIR SHOWS

5 (Left) Hungarian air show pilot Peter Besenyei is one of Europe's most well known and busiest civilian performers. An accomplished aerobatic competitor, he helped create the Red Bull Air Races and flies the German-built Extra 300. (Below) Formed in 1953, the Patrouille de France is the French military jet team. The team has been flying the two-seat, twin-engine Dassault-Dornier Alpha jet trainer for nearly 25 years. once tried to fly 11 aircraft in formation, but decided against it and went back to ten. The more aircraft, the more difficult, he said. Unlike warbird acts and most individual solo aerobatic performers in Europe, the Tricolori fly about 60 percent of their shows outside of Italy. The team has amassed a substantial following, with more than 100 separate fan clubs worldwide, according to Tammaro. Buekenberghs said the team is best known for the green, white and red smoke the colors of the Italian flag and Italian opera songs that provide the backdrop for their performances. The Patrouille Suisse fly a formation of six F-5E Tiger IIs, each powered by two General Electric J 85-GE-21A turbojet engines and capable of withstanding +7.3/- 3.0 g s. In the late 1980s, the Swiss also formed a separate display team of nine Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainers, a cousin of the 36 AIR SHOWS well-known PC-12 luxury business aircraft. Though the military jet teams are the most sought-after acts, the European air show community also has a stable of civilian solo aerobatic pilots and warbird performers, as well. Peter Besenyei, the 55-year-old, silverhaired, ten-time Hungarian national and three-time world aerobatics champion, spoke by telephone from his home in Herceghalom, a quiet suburb of Budapest. Last year, he performed in 75 separate air shows and continues to compete in the FAI World Grand Prix. That s a lot, he said of his schedule. I don t practice specially for an air show. Competition is more difficult because any small mistake, you have to pay by the points. In an air show, you can choose what you would like to fly. He says that some of the air show pilots he knows create sequence cards for their show routines. For me, it s an improvisation, from my heart. One important difference between European and North American air show pilots has less to do with style and more to do with economics. Besenyei, who flies the German-built Extra 300, said that for a show within 500km (270nm) of his home base, he charges between 2,000 and 2,500 euros, or about U.S. $2,500 to $3,200. A North American pilot with Besenyei s talent and experience would likely charge more than twice that for a weekend performance. Another noteworthy difference between European and North American air show flying are the regulations and limitations under which the pilots perform. Though Europeans have suffered through three horrific air show accidents involving large numbers of spectators during the last 20 years, there has been no consistent regulatory reaction to these accidents. The Ramstein accident in 1988 prompted German regulators to require that no air show performer civilian or military, experienced or inexperienced fly lower than 200 meters. A similar accident in the Ukraine produced no significant change to that country s air show regulations. And other European countries have widely varying altitude restrictions with only a very few making any allowances for the type of aircraft or the experience of its pilot. What is consistent, however, is that crowd set-back distances in Europe are considerably less restrictive than they are in the United States, but are no different for light sport aircraft than they are for heavier mili-