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Love of Flight
photo courtesy of H2 Aviation Images
F-15E Strike Eagle
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The Winston-Salem Air Show will be held Saturday and Sunday at Smith Reynolds Airport.
Gates will open at 10 a.m. and close at 5:30 p.m.
Tickets are $11 in advance or $15 at the gate. Senior citizens 62 and up or military (with an ID) get in for $6 in advance or $10 at the gate. Advance tickets can be bought online or at Lowes Foods locations. Children 12 and under get in free, and parking is also free.
For more on tickets or to see the latest schedule, go to www.wsairshow.com. The air show will be held rain or shine. For more information, call 767-2832.
Published: September 10, 2009
Updated: 09/09/2009 05:40 pm
The sluggish economy hasn't caused a drop in attendance at any air shows that Dan McClung has performed at this year.
"We do about 15 (shows) a year, plus or minus," said McClung, who is half of the Red Eagle Air Sports flight duo. "Attendance for air shows is up 15 to 20 percent this year over all. We're seeing that pretty much across the board. There's a lot of speculation about what's causing that. I think people are seeing that air shows, for a family, are a pretty good value for about four hours of entertainment."
This year's Winston Salem Air Show will run Saturday and Sunday at Smith Reynolds Airport. Last year, the show drew more than 22,000 visitors over its two-day run. This year, Steve Flippin, the director of the air show, hopes for an even better turnout.
"I feel we really have something for everyone -- it sounds like a cliche, but I mean it," he said. "There are lots of things for the family, not just motorheads."
Flippin has worked with the air show since 2001, but last year was his first as director. He said he has changed some aspects of the show based on that experience.
"We've greatly increased our number of beverage stations," he said. "Last year, on Sunday we had a huge crowd of folks, possibly because the weather was not as good on Saturday. But Sunday we had several thousand
more than we were used to having, so we were stretched to the limit on beverage venders. We've upped it from five to eight."
They have also increased the amount of available parking by about 20 percent by moving volunteers and VIPs to another lot that wasn't available last year.
And Flippin said he has increased the number of ground activities available during the show, which include a music stage, a car show, a Winston Cup Museum display, K-9 demonstrations by the Forsyth County Sheriff's Department, and grounded vehicles including a Piedmont Airlines DC-3 that people can get a close look at. And there's even a jet-powered school bus that runs more than 300 miles an hour.
Up in the air
The focus does remain largely in the air. One of this year's highlights, Flippin said, will be planned flybys of two B-1 bombers between 1:30 and 1:45 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
"Winston-Salem's never had one, and what's incredible is, as of right now, there will be two of them," he said. "They'll be doing a flyby for us during a training mission they're running."
That is in addition to scheduled flybys, about noon on Saturday, of four F-15E fighter jets.
And there will be many performers on hand each day demonstrating their aircraft and their aerobatic skills.
Art Nalls, the owner of the only privately-owned Sea Harrier jump jet in the world, will be doing two demonstrations a day. The Harrier is known for its ability to do vertical takeoffs and landings. "The Harrier demonstrations are going to be incredible," Flippin said. "He's going to show us what it looks like at 600 miles per hour, and then going 30 miles an hour in reverse. At the end, he does a little bow with the jet. It's incredible."
The Red Eagle sports team, Dan McClung and Buck Roetman, have more than 37,000 hours of flight time between them. They perform elaborate aerobatic maneuvers including inverted flat spins, inside and outside loops, and more with their two planes during their show.
"Flying is hard to explain, but it's one of those things you either love or you don't," McClung said. "Flying at this level, it's a part of the heart of you. For Buck and I, this is who we are."
Another aerial act performing at this year's show will be Ed Hamill, who is now in his 10th year of air shows and his 25th year of flying overall.
"My grandfather was involved in airplanes both as a civilian and in the military, as a pilot," Hamill said. "Going to an air show when I was a kid made me want to enter the military and become a fighter pilot."
He is a part-time Air Force Reservist who promotes the Air Force Reserve as his title sponsor. He attends 16 air shows a year.
More than a job
Like the Red Eagle team, he says that flying is more than just a job. "When you first fly, there's a sense of freedom," he said. "And these are very patriotic events. Aviation represents freedom and democracy.
"I call my show ‘Living the Dream,' and it has a message throughout a 10-minute performance. I break it up into three distinct segments: the barnstorming era of the 1920s and 30s, the competition era of the 50s and 60s, and present-day, high-energy skydancing…. I use period music to help tell the story, and the message throughout is to set goals, work hard and never give up."
And like the Red Eagle team, he said he has been to plenty of air shows this year and said he has seen heavy attendance at all of them.
"It's a lot less expensive than the amusement park or a sporting event," he said. "It's always been that way, nothing has changed, but with people looking to hang on to their cash, they're looking for events like this more than ever."
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