Roar and Mastery at Orange County Air Show
The crowd erupted as a sleek silhouette appeared in the distance. “Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer hollered, “the F-15 Eagle.” The crowd’s noise drowned in the cry of the twin turbofan engines as the fighter jet bolted past the audience. The show was on.
For the ninth time, the Stewart International Airport in Orange County hosted the New York Air Show, packed with civilian and military performers. Both shows on June 24–25 drew tens of thousands, attracted to the acrobatic feats of the specialized propeller aircraft as well as the power and precision of the military demonstrations.
The F-15 Eagle opened the show. The dog fight machine has been in military service for nearly half a century, and its upgraded version, the F-15 Strike Eagle, is expected to serve into the next decade. Its brilliant design allows high maneuverability and impressive performance in air-to-air combat.
As its second act, the show welcomed Kirby Chambliss, five-time U.S. National Aerobatic Championship winner, former Men’s Freestyle World Champion, and Red Bull Air Race World Championship winner. Chambliss took his Red Bull Edge 540 on a dizzying ride of spins and loops, earning high marks from the audience. Just as he was finishing, another aircraft entered the arena, seemingly uninvited.
A moment of confusion soon turned to cheers as it became clear the next performance was on—Kent Pietsch with his “Chuck Dramamine” routine.
“After building his airplane in prison and learning to fly by watching YouTube videos, he escaped and then accidentally flew into the middle of a nearby air show!” the promotional materials tell it, noting that “Chuck didn’t watch the video on how to land.”
Pietsch played the part with conviction, letting his yellow “Jelly Belly” airplane wobble in the air and drop dangerously close to the ground just as the announcer tried to talk him through the landing maneuver. At times, Pietsch masterfully took advantage of the tree line and a small river close to the runway, disappearing from the view and emerging again, much to the pleasure of the spectators.
Pietsch would return later in the show, but this was already time for another warplane performance, the A-10 Thunderbolt II, a.k.a. “Warthog.” Developed to provide close air support to ground troops, the A-10 showed its ability for rapid takeoff as well as the relatively slow and extremely low flight. The aircraft’s most distinctive feature is a 30 mm “GAU-8 Avenger” Gatling cannon capable of skewering tank armor.
Next in the lineup was Mike Goulian, one of the world’s top aerobatic pilots. Swinging from one side of the runway to the other, he showed off his mastery of breathtaking gyroscopic tumbling along all axes of rotation. No wonder he was among the youngest contestants to win the U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Championship at the age of 27.
It was time then for Pietsch to take the stage again. His first feat was landing the plane on a moving truck. The routine requires him to fly close to the ground, match the truck’s speed, and precisely fit his landing gear into a locking mechanism attached to the vehicle. He gave himself three tries. The first two failed. He managed to land on the truck but couldn’t lock the gear in. On the last try, however, he slid in smoothly. The last and most dangerous part was taking off again from the truck. Pietsch managed it without a hitch.
For his last performance, Pietsch then proceeded to land the plane with the engine turned off. First, he gained substantial altitude. Then he turned the engine off and treated the audience to an acrobatic routine concluded by an incredibly precise landing. He had the feat down to such accuracy that he could fit the propeller’s nose into the waiting palm of a man standing on the runway.
The show’s final act was perhaps the most anticipated one—the U.S. Navy Blue Angels squadron. Due to the cloud cover, the Angels settled on June 24 on what they call the “flat” variant of their show. It somewhat limits the maneuvers they can demonstrate, but on the flip side, it pulls the show lower and closer to the audience.
Rather than stunts, the Angels performed variations on real battle maneuvers and moves to showcase the capabilities of their F-18 Super Hornets. Their forte is in precision and synchronization. The squadron first separates with four pilots keeping in a tight diamond formation and the remaining two performing opposing maneuvers, tightly passing each other at high speed. At the finale, all six got together for a few more passes, including their signature move where they split from the delta formation into different directions.
The pilots enjoy coming to the show, Chris Dirato, the show’s public relations head, told The Epoch Times.
“Orange County Airport is sort of boutique type of air show that we stage, and they like that,” he said. “It’s in a beautiful area of the Hudson Valley, so they all love being up here.”
The show was a part of an event series with two more air shows scheduled for this year, one on Oct. 7–8 in Atlanta, Georgia, and one on Oct. 28–29 in Orlando, Florida.
