AL AIN AEROBATICS SHOW 2008

AL AIN AEROBATICS SHOW 2008
An International Event in the UAE
By Greg Koontz
T
raveling almost half way around the world to perform in an
airshow is truly a most unique experience, but sending your
beloved airplane over there in a shipping box is a very stress-
ful one.
That’s what Skip Stewart, Michael Watkins, Darrel Zeck, Chris
Rudd and myself did between January 17th and February 1st. Representing the USA in a gathering of aviators
from all corners of the globe, we braved
butt-busting airline rides, jet lag, and language barriers to arrive in the middle of
the UAE to do our part in the sand dunes
of the desert.
Arrival day meant dragging out of the
hotel with our bio-clocks wrecked and
heading to the air base in Al Ain to open
the shipping containers. We could only
hope the truck drivers and crane operators had not returned our planes to kit
form. We were lucky, so the day was spent
emptying the containers and assembling
our birds.
Anyone out there ever see the old
movie Those Magnificent Men in their
Flying Machines? If you’re that old, you
might remember the scene where teams
from all over the world were at an airfield in 1906 England assembling their wildly-varied types of aircraft, preparing for the race
across the channel. Well, let me tell you, we were playing that scene
out of the movie. Hungary, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, South
Africa, Jordan, Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Lithuania, Russia,
Italy and, of course, America all vying for space in the hangar and
trying to communicate, if not to say hello, but to at least borrow a
wrench! I had to go outside and laugh.
After we all figured out how to get our
planes together, there were the test flights.
Now those real airshow pilots danced
their acro-dance and then went out and
practiced with deep concentration. I
headed for the desert and sand dunes
with my Piper Cub and found great satisfaction chasing camels! I found myself
trying to convince the British (contract)
tower controllers I needed more practice
because everyone wanted to go camel
chasing! Hey, this is a tough job!
The producers and volunteers from
the show treated everyone with great
care and respect. The hotel accommodations were four-star. The performer tent
was a luxury tent with lots of service and
catering. Safety was not a rule, it was a
LAW. Skip and I were the only ones given
Top: Skip Stewart is a virtual silhouette against Rich Gibson’s pyro (photo by Taro Imahara). Above: Camel chasing in Greg’s Cub (photo by Greg Koontz).
34 World Airshow News
March/April 2008
Above left: The USA contingent at Al Ain (left to right) Joan LeRoy, Chris Rudd, Rich Gibson, Michael Watkins, Skip Stewart, Tommy LeRoy (front), David “Fricky” Fickenscher, Darrel Zeck, Greg
Koontz, Tom Skrobot, and Christina Stewart (photo courtesy of Skip Stewart). Right: Skip’s Prometheus in the shipping container (photo by Skip Stewart).
permission to do our take-offs on the ramp (there was no runway in
front of the crowd). In fact we, Jurgis Kairys, and Zoltan Veres were
the only ones allowed aerobatics below a 150 foot hard deck.
The audience was limited to a rather large set of temporary
bleachers and a row of luxury suites with patios occupied by the
upper class. The people here are very family oriented. I think I have
never seen so many kids at a show. Language really wasn’t a problem,
so getting up-close and personal with the crowd was much easier
than expected. I even got mobbed by enthusiastic fans trying to get
me to sign “hero cards.” It was actually fun and comfortable to me.
I found that Jurgis was a real celebrity at this show. He ran a
really exciting aerobatic competition and seemed to be a respected
advisor to the event. If you’ve ever watched him fly you would have
no problem understanding this. I was also amazed when he showed
up with two “Hooters” style models, jazzing up his appearance. Man,
this is show-biz even in the UAE!
When it was all said and done, Skip Stewart stole the show. Skip
was scheduled as the Grand Finale every day of the show. When Skip
powered up for his trademark takeoff, they ran to the ropes. You can
call Skip “the next LeRoy” or whatever, but the truth is he was Skip
Stewart in his own right. He flew a sharp, well-practiced sequence of
pure excitement. Skip reminds me of Jimmy Franklin in his ability to
make precise flying look crazy. It was top notch entertainment. And
the people of Al Ain know. They have the pick of the world.
The memory of Jim LeRoy was respectfully acknowledged by
all, and the show ended on the last day with a missing man formation that pulled on my heart. The honor of leading the missing man
formation very appropriately went to Skip himself. And just to show
how warm the Emirates are, they flew Joan LeRoy and son Tommy
to the show in a proud expression of respect.
Skip Stewart’s Pitts and Greg Koontz’s Cub bake in the desert heat (photo by Greg Koontz).
www.airshowmag.com
World Airshow News 35