Page 18 - World Airshow News Q3 2024

...AuStIN RIEDER JOINS REDLINE AIRSHOWS...

once he was old enough, he would learn and said, “Today, we’re going to do a whole Above: Ken flies inverted as Austin tucks in close in
how to fly. Austin went to glider camp routine.” After that, for the next two or Redline’s signature mirror formation (photo by Jim
when he was just 12 years old and soloed three years, it was more practice, flying Froneberger).
a glider at age 14. He then added powered the same routine over and over and over.
aircraft to his logbook by soloing a Piper By the 2021 airshow season, Ken felt Below: For now, Ken is flying the Redline night show as
Cub shortly after his 16 birthday. Austin Austin was ready to get serious about a solo act (photo by Joe Letourneau).
th
finished up his private pilot license in a earning his first airshow Statement of
Cessna 152. Aerobatic Competency (SAC) card. As an
With his fresh private license in his Aerobatic Competency Evaluator (ACE)
pocket, Austin began flying the RV-8, at himself, Ken knew how to prepare his
first with his dad in the back seat. The son for the evaluation, but another ACE
family now had two RV-8s, so not long would have to evaluate Austin’s flying and
after Austin soloed in the RV, he and his issue the SAC card.
dad began working on formation flying “I had to do a solo routine for my two
and aerobatics. ACEs, Buck Roetman and Greg Koontz,
“The new RV-8 we built didn’t even to get my initial SAC card,” explains Aus-
have paint on it yet, so since you have tin. “Dad and I then had to do a forma-
to fly the first 40 hours in the local area, tion routine to show that I could be cer-
why not just fly with somebody on your tified for formation. I also had to lead a
wing?” laughs Ken. “Eventually we tran- loop and a barrel roll to show I was able
sitioned to doing loops and barrel rolls, to lead a formation. So, from day one, my
and then several months later, we started initial SAC card was for both solo and
putting some elements together into short formation.”
sequences.” Austin was approved for that first SAC
They flew together as often as they card in August 2021. A few weeks later,
could, then one day, Ken came to Austin on Labor Day weekend, Austin and his

www.airshowmag.com 18 Quarter 3, 2024