Page 11 - World Airshow News Q3 2024

presented with the ICAS Sword of Excellence in 2007.
Pietsch and Reider will be officially inducted into the Hall
of Fame on Thursday, December 12 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel
during the 2024 ICAS Convention.
GONE WESt:
Major General

William Anders

Major General William Anders (USAF, retired) was
killed in early June when the T-34 he was flying crashed into
Puget Sound near the San Juan Islands northwest of Seattle,
Washington. Anders was 90 years old.
Anders was commissioned in the USAF after gradua-
tion from the U.S. Naval Academy
excitement of airshows and air races with a worldwide audience. and served as a fighter pilot in the
Your Home TV is a streamed media division of Tampa, Florida- Air Defense Command. In 1964,
based Your Home Digital, LLC. The network focuses on family- Anders was selected by NASA as
friendly content and is free for viewers. an astronaut. He flew with Frank
“Connecting airshows with viewers all over the world through Borman and Jim Lovell on Apollo
streamed media is very powerful,” said Sawyer. “We believe view- 8, the first lunar orbit mission in
ers will enjoy vast experiences through our video-on-demand and December 1968. During that mis-
live-streamed airshow and event programming. The ease of ac- sion, Anders took the iconic
cess to this network via mobile and smart devices is brilliant. Your “Earthrise” photo on Christmas
Home TV is the perfect organization with which to collaborate, and Eve. Bill went on to serve as chair-
their capabilities to distribute our content are unparalleled.” man of the Nuclear Regulatory
The AirSpace Channel programs will include “AirShow360 Pres- Commission, U.S. ambassador to Norway, and chairman and
ents”, a program showcasing airshow pros behind the scenes and in CEO of General Dynamics.
front of the crowds. The featured pros will include pilots, announc- Anders was active as an airshow performer during the late
ers, airbosses, and vendors. 1990s and the 2000s. He was one of the initial civilian warbird
“The AirSpace Channel has been a goal of mine for several years pilots flying in the USAF Heritage Flight program.
and to have it launch on Your Home TV with Kathy Ireland is a World Airshow News sends our most sincere condolences to
dream come true,” continued Sawyer. “It’s exciting to launch a ded- the friends and family of Bill Anders.
icated aviation channel to enhance viewer reach and spectator en- Photo: Astronaut and warbird pilot, Maj. Gen William Anders (NASA photo).
gagement for our industry.”
AIR SHOW HALL OF FAmE: GONE WESt:
Al Pietsch and Rob Reider Shawn Yost

The International Council of Air Shows (ICAS) has announced Our World Airshow News family lost one of our own on
that Alfred C. Pietsch and Rob Reider will be the newest members September 4 with the passing of long-time contributor Shawn
of the ICAS Foundation Air Show Hall of Fame. Yost after a short but brave battle
A World War II veteran and active airshow pilot from 1968 with pancreatic cancer. Shawn is
through 1995, North Dakota-based Al Pietsch performed through- survived by his wife Sherrie, daugh-
out the U.S. and Canada in his Stolp Starduster Too. Pietsch was ter Samantha, and son Skyler.
also deeply involved as an event organizer, helping to plan and con- Shawn was one of our most fre-
duct a number of airshows in North Dakota and in Saskatchewan, quent contributors since he first
Canada. During the latter stages of his airshow flying career, he began photographing airshows
performed with his two sons, Kent and Warren, creating a multi- for us in 2006. He was a passion-
ship, multi-act flying circus. Al Pietsch was killed in an aviation ate airshow fan and an exception-
accident in 1995. al aviation photographer. In July,
After working for many years in local television in the Cincin- Shawn realized his longtime dream
nati area, Rob Reider began his career as a professional airshow of attending EAA AirVenture in
announcer in the 1990s, initially in the Midwest, but quickly ex- Oshkosh. You can see some of his work in our AirVenture cov-
panding his work throughout the United States and Canada. Each erage and in Airshow Highlights in this issue.
year for nearly three decades, he has also helped to train the new We offer our most sincere condolences to Shawn’s family and
narrators for the Golden Knights, Blue Angels, and Thunderbirds. his many friends.
Rob is an honorary member of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and was Photo: Shawn Yost

World Airshow News 11 Quarter 3, 2024