Page 12 - World Airshow News Final

greg koontz: from the ACE

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

T here are certain things in this thing! Please provide an ample supply of cold water. I’ve been seri-
ously dehydrated before, and I know it sneaks up on you.
life that are dangerous. Doing
Toilets: I can do a long walk, but a sudden need right before our
them is commonly frowned
upon, or at least not recom- turn to fly could make having these facilities nearby a critical thing.
mended. But sometimes we do them Food: Food needs to be ready and available before the flying
anyway. Texting and driving come begins. I see this issue at most shows.
to mind. Loaning money to an em-
ployee is on my dumb things list. tHE fAA
And telling my wife she’s wrong is Regulations: Please don’t send inspectors to airshows that have
at the top of the list! There I try to not familiarized themselves with airshow regulations. There are a
remember the Golden Rule: Those lot of differences in our business.
who have the gold rule. Inspections: The rules state that once our aircraft have been
Telling anyone they are wrong is ramp checked during a season, we do not have to endure another
tricky. As an airshow performer, I just eat the lunch provided by one. I know, you reserve the right to do another one, but let’s be real
the show rather than tell the director that a cold hot dog and a about it and have some probable cause. Inspectors should never ap-
bag of Cheetos isn’t a good lunch. It’s easier to just eat it and not proach an aircraft for inspection without the pilot being there. Fi-
be labeled a complainer. You must choose your battles wisely. nally, if you must inspect, do it early so we can prepare for our part
It’s better to let ICAS be the voice. They have some great forums of the show. That’s very important. Distractions can be dangerous.
at the annual convention that, with a lot of tact and diplomacy,
use the atmosphere of education to bring up these issues. Fo- PERfORMERS
rums like “60 Tips in 60 Minutes for Airshow Performers” do Compensation: Charge what your act is worth. Flying for pea-
a nice job of it. nuts isn’t helping anyone. Hobbyists are the industry’s worst enemy.
But, of course, you must attend the forums to get the educa- Professionalism: You are there to make the show entertaining
tion. Truthfully, I attend every forum I can possibly attend each and successful. That’s your job. It’s not “what they need to do for
day while I’m at the convention. Why wouldn’t I? It is a great you.” It’s always,“what can you do for them.”
opportunity. But I swear, it seems some of the people who re- “Airshow pilots are just big egos that want to be pampered,”
ally need it must be doing something else. Small airshows may right? I can’t say that I haven’t ever seen this, but I don’t believe it is
not have enough budget to send everyone needing the educa- as common as one might think. Your typical airshow professional
tion to the ICAS convention. I also see a lot of issues when I do learned early-on that a successful airshow is a collaboration by eve-
military shows. It’s been pointed out to me that most military ryone. We all can get our hands dirty, we all can bend a little, and
bases only do airshows once every few years, and from what we all can be a part of the big picture. But safety comes first. Per-
I see, it appears the people who did the last show didn’t leave former “demands” are not luxuries and pampering. Water, nourish-
any advice written down for the next poor soul that gets put in ment, proper rest, and quiet time to mentally “get our heads in the
charge of putting the show together. Here is where attending game” are safety essentials. Bitter lessons from the past have taught
the forums at ICAS would do a lot of good. Maybe they could us to respect these needs.
hire a professional airshow producer to advise and help with I am entering my fifty-first year since I did my first airshow. It’s
the planning. an honor and a privilege to still be in this business. Let’s be careful
So, taking more risk here than I probably should, I would out there and have a wonderful 2025 season.
like to bring up a few things that are regular problems that I still
see after 50 years of flying in airshows. Greg Koontz is a full-time airshow performer and teaches basic
aerobatics at his Flight School/Bed & Breakfast called Sky Country
tHE AIRSHOW PRODuCERS Lodge. Greg is a former chairman of the ICAS ACE Committee, holds
The Crew Car: The importance of having a crew car next to an unlimited aerobatic waiver, and has been designated a Master
our airplane cannot be overstated. We need our equipment, we Certified Flight Instructor-Aerobatics by the National Association of
need a place to avoid the heat and direct sunshine, and we often Flight Instructors.
need the transportation to get around the ramp (like when we Please send your comments/questions to Greg@GKairshows.com
go to set up our inverted ribbon cut).
Water: This is so obvious I cannot believe I have to say any-

www.airshowmag.com 12 The Final Issue