Air Force bases always have the very best accomodations! Thanks for the great suite on base Charleston and thanks for having us at your first show in several years. The crowd kept talking about how they wish you'd have the show every year, so how about 2005?! And, please invite us back!
Patty with the RC modelers airplanes at Charleston AFB
No, it wasn't the Air Force, but the Navy that put on the airshow at NAS Atlanta last weekend. Wow - we were pleasantly surprised at how well organized and fun the airshow was. Patty was joined by the Red Eagles, Blue Angels..or is is the Blue Eagles and Red Angels? Never mind, we had fun visiting with the Careers in Aviation guys flying L-39's, the F-l4, F-l5 and F-l6 demo pilots, and the Texan II demo pilot, doing a heritage flight with a straight "old" Texan (SNJ/T-6). Thanks Brian and Clyde from Sean's crew for their help - they're always helpful! Always fun to be with and we appreciate them. The crowds were incredibly enthusiastic and we appreciated their kind words and support.
Thanks for having us Atlanta - please invite us back again!
We are pleased to announce that Bill Beardsley, Sr, who we all know and love as Big B, is our new Crew Chief. Big B and his wife, Theresa, (known as Little T) are from Steamboat Springs, Colorado and Pensacola, Florida and have been in the airshow business for a long time and used to crew for Leo Loudenslager's Bud Lite jet. We are happy to have Big B on the PWAS Team. He makes each day brighter at the airshows with his wonderful personality and his sense of humour and we are happy to welcome him!
We were lucky have a visit from the local 4-H group recently. These are the kids that aren't into agriculture or growing the biggest cabbage, which are both really cool things, but these are the kids who are interesting in aviation and flying! Patty talked to the kids, handed out brochures and t-shirts, and then talked about her Extra 300S. Next door, just happened to be none other than the Pepsi Skydancer himself, Steve Oliver, who showed the kids his airplane and talked to them about Skywriting which he and his wife, Suzanne Asbury-Oliver, are tops at. In fact, Suzanne is the world's premier Skywriter and has her original skywriting machine, the Pepsi Travelair in the new National Air & Space Museum's Hazy Center at Dulles. After that, Dale Snodgrass showed off his Korean vintage F-86 fighter jet. Thanks for visiting and come back soon!
We returned from the Beaufort Airshow Sunday evening after a really fantastic weekend. Beaufort really knows how to put on a show and how to take care of their performers. From briefings that started at 9:45 am (thanks, Beaufort!), to great hospitality on the flight line, we were happy campers all weekend. Patty was joined by Jim LeRoy, Scott Shockley in Shockwave, Dale Snodgrass, a flight of Warbirds, and the Blue Angels. We had two of the Apache pilots from Hunter Army Base hold poles for us on Sunday and think they enjoyed it! Patty and Jim put on a dual routine on Saturday and Sunday with Shockwave that got great reviews. Patty raced Shockwave inverted and Jim raced in knife edge. We think some of the photographers in the crowd must have been happy!
Louise Thaden’s book “High, Wide and Frightened” has been republished. Louise is one of aviation’s premier female aviators, with an incredibly rich history and legacy. Her book is her story of her life and her achievements in aviation. Louise gives us a firsthand account of the life she and other women pilots pursued in their quest for the thrill and romance of flight. She was part of a small group of determined women who overcame discrimination and obstacles to become pilots in a time when air races and distance, altitude and endurance records were daily news in America – but when women were supposed to be home barefood and pregnant in the kitchen!
Patty was honored to be invited to write the forward to the book and she says, “Louise Thaden was one of the greatest pilot’s and a pioneer of aviation’s “Golden Age” she was a headliner of the era and is A true legend today.
Patty and crew just returned from fun in the sun -definitely great weather! - at Sun & Fun 2004.
Patty flew Thursday, tried to fly Friday but had a small mechanical problem (turned out to be a loose exhaust stack) and then flew again on Saturday, performing the inverted ribbon cut each day before crowds of thousands of spectators, pilots, friends and fans. Patty spent time with sponsors Champion, Tempest and Aeroshell signing pictures; at the IAC Tent and at Kimball Aircraft checking out their new Model 12 kit. Awesome airplane, we think! The weather was great and the night show on Saturday was truly awesome, with fireworks capping off the evening. We are happy to be back on the circuit. Next weekend - Beaufort Marine Station, Beaufort, South Carolina!
Patty flying low at Sun & Fun, 2004 (photographer: Bill White).
Dayton Daily News, by Tim Gaffney
Aviation hall outlines $29 million, 10-year expansion Some enshrinees to help raise funds By Timothy R. Gaffney Dayton Daily News WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE - The National Aviation Hall of Fame has outlined a 10-year strategic plan that includes $29 million in new projects, directors said Friday.
The Second Century of Flight Plan is a road map for increased operations, expansion at the Air Force Museum, a new educational program and a mobile museum and education center. Four enshrinees have agreed to help the hall of fame raise money for the projects, directors said. They are high-altitude balloonist Joe Kittinger, astronaut and X-15 rocketplane pilot Joe Engle, record-setting research pilot Scott Crossfield, and Gene Cernan, the last Apollo astronaut to walk on the moon. The organization is "at a crossroads" after meeting its major goals of the past decade, including the completion of its 13,000-square-foot learning center, establishment of the Harry B. Combs Research Center, the start of an education program and development of a commercial quality membership magazine. "We can rest on our reputation and be content with local programming and a dynamic exhibit hall or we can seize the initiative and use our tremendous resources to better serve American education, business and technology at the national level," Jackson said. The hall of fame's staff is working with consultants to flesh out the projects, said Tara Engel, strategic planning director. She mentioned two that are aimed at nationwide markets. The education program will supplement the hall of fame's Skyreach program for elementary and middle school students with Project Techteam, a business- and technology-oriented initiative geared for high school students. U.S. aerospace industry employers have expressed a "nationwide concern" about a lack of business and technical skills among new employees, Engel said. Project Techteam will draw on the life experiences of its enshrinees to develop lesson plans on topics such as management, organization and communication, she said. The hall of fame also envisions offering special programs such as leadership clinics, career camps and mentoring opportunities, she said. The mobile museum and education center will be built into a large van or trailer similar to some NASA traveling exhibits, Development Director Ron Kaplan said. The hall of fame has portable exhibits it displays at a few aviation conventions and air shows, but "we have venues we've turned down because we lacked the proper resources," Kaplan said. Executive Director Mike Jackson called the 10-year plan "a to-do list" of projects it will execute as it raises the funds for them. Jackson said he has seen some decline of interest in sponsoring aviation history activities after last year's multimillion-dollar centennial of flight celebrations, but he characterized it as a "temporary letdown." He said he thinks the hall of fame will continue to find sponsors interested in using the stories of American air and space pioneers to stimulate young people's interest in science and mathematics. The hall of fame is the only organization chartered by Congress to preserve the histories of individuals who played important roles in American aviation and spaceflight. The hall of fame today includes 178 enshrinees. It has announced plans to induct four more at its annual enshrinement ceremony on July 17 - Apollo astronaut William A. Anders; the late Harriet Quimby, America's first officially licensed woman pilot; the late Jack L. Ridley, pioneering flight test engineer and pilot, and air show headliner Patty Wagstaff, three-time U.S. National Aerobatic Champion and the first woman to win that title.
Patty and crew will be looking forward to Sun & Fun next week. Patty is flying her 300S and since she has already flown the Punta Gorda show this season and has been practicing with her coach, Sergei Boriak, she's ready for our next airshow!
Our schedule is:
Thursday: April 15
10am @ Tempest Booth Autograph Signing
Patty Flies the Airshow
Friday: April 16
10am @ Champion Booth Autograph Signing
Patty Flies the Airshow
Saturday: April 17
10am @ Aeroshell Booth Autograph Signing
12 noon, IAC Tent talk to RC Modelers
Patty Flies the Airshow
We just completed the first airshow of our twentieth airshow season, the Florida International Airshow in Punta Gorda, Florida. Punta Gorda is a beautiful old Florida town on the Gulf Coast. This was the 15th year the airshow had been held with some of the same organizers that started it and it's one of our all time favorites. From the time you arrive to the time you depart, everything is well organized and the performers and their crews are well taken care of.
Patty was joined at the airshow by the US Air Force Thunderbirds. It was Mike "Chanz" Chander's first airshow as the new #1 Boss of the Team and they did a fantastic job - not a glitch or an airplane out of place. Chanz used to be the Air Force F-15 Demo pilot and has made a lot of friends in the airshow industry so we are really happy to have him back. Also at the show were the Aeroshell Team with their T-6's, Freddy Cabanas from Key West, Greg Koontz doing a dynamite Super Decathalon act, and Freddy and Greg got together for a dual J-3 Cub comedy act....that was a sight to behold! Kirby Chambliss, one of only four 3-time U.S. National Champions also performed. The U.S. Army Golden Knights entertained the crowd, and the Red Knight T-33 jet with Sanders smoke generators flies airshows again. Against the Gulf Coast blue skies, everyone looked great - even this early in the season.
We're looking forward to seeing friends and fans at our next airshow - Sun & Fun! Patty flies Thursday, Friday and Saturday of Sun & Fun - see you there!
Patty with one of the airshow organizers in front of the Extra 300S
For the fourth year in a row, Patty and her companion, Dale Snodgrass, traveled the long distance to Nairobi, Kenya (that is two 9 hour flights with layovers) to give recurrency and aerobatic training to the dedicated pilots of the Kenya Wildlife Service. http://www.kws.org,
The Kenya Wildlife Service manages and protects wildlife in a number of National Parks all across Kenya. Kenya is known for it's scenic beauty and rich wildlife. From the coast which has beautiful beaches to the mountains (there 17,000 foot Mt. Kenya lying on the Equator!), it would be hard to describe or compare anywhere else to Kenya's natural beauty.
KWS Park Rangers are well trained and equipped, carry out regular patrols of all major tourist routes in the Parks, ensure that visitors are safe from potentially dangerous wild animals or poachers.
We think the poachers are more dangerous than the wild animals (even though the animals do put us on the bottom rung of the food chain!). Armed and illegal, poachers travel large distances on foot typically from Somalia and the Sudan to kill elephants, rhino and other animals that are becoming increasingly more endangered, for their ivory and their horn. The ivory is then sold for huge profit to people who make things like carvings. One large female elephant, for example, can be slaughtered for her tusk, leaving her children alone to die. That female's future children (they can breed well into their later years) will never be born. Killing one elephant can affect an entire herd, and subsequently the entire elephant population.
The animals live in Kenya, but they are a global resource and until you've sat on top of a hill and watched a family of elephants travel into the sunset, you can only imagine what a loss it would be to humanity and the ecosystem if the wild things ceased to exist. The KWS Airwing, based at Nairobi Wilson Airport, provides aerial patrolling across Kenya using Aviat Husky's, Piper Super Cubs, Cessna l80's, Bell Helicopters and other aircraft. The KWS Airwing pilots is a huge deterrent to these poachers. The pilots are dedicated and brave, fly long hours in extremely remote areas and patrol at low level. Their skills need to be extremely sharp for them to do their job well and survive, so recurrency training - which is important for all pilots - is of the utmost importance to them.
We have also provided aerobatic training the past several years. Not only has it been fun, but we hope it gives the pilots additional skills and confidence to improve their flying and keep them safe. We think aerobatic training is good for every pilot, whether they are flying in the bush or going out for a Sunday hamburger and we would be happy to refer you to a favorite instructor. Just write us through our web site here and ask.
Because of generous donations last year, we were able to continue aerobatic training in a beautiful Super Decathalon. The field elevation is about 3,000 MSL, and the weather is warm but the airplane performs just wonderfully at the airstrip in Southeastern Kenya where we train. Also, we think the pilots like the Decathalon because it's similar to the types of airplanes they normally fly.
There had been a lot of rain this year so everything was beautiful and green. Every time we taxied out or took off we saw different animals. This year we saw elephants, zebra, impala, eland, giraffe, hippo, crocodile, oryx, kipspringer (a new one for us), baboons, Cape buffalo, lots of bird life including a huge African Fish Eagle. If you're not sure what all of these animals are, look them up on the web site. The diversity and beauty of the animals we need to protect is astonishing.
Also look up the KWS web site and think about making a donation to your favorite animal welfare organization, whether it be KWS, IFAW, Humane Society or one of the many other worthy groups out there.
By the way, KWS always needs airplanes and parts if you are so inclined!
Patty with some of the KWS pilots at Kilaguni Airstrip in Tsavo East, Kenya)
Sponsor or no sponsor, we will be hitting the road again in March to commence our twentieth year of flying airshows. Yeah, yeah...time flies....it really does. Patty flew her first airshow in Gulkana, Alaska, in a Super Decathalon, in 1984. She has performed at more than 350 airshows since then all over the world. Aerobatics has taken us far - to Russia, Iceland, Argentina, Africa and lots of places in Europe. Aviation and aerobatics has introduced us to wonderful people all over the world and we have an instant aviation family wherever we go. We are lucky people indeed.
After a very extensive annual inspection of the Extra this year, we will start training in early March to prepare for our first airshow in Punta Gorda, Florida, at the end of March. If you live in Florida or nearby and haven't been to this airshow, it's definitely worth going out of your way for. The Punta Gorda Airshow has been a long time favorite of ours and the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds, making it a medium size, friendly and fantastic airshow.
We had a funny incident there a couple of years ago when the show had to be delayed for an escaped cow! The poor guy had gotten loose from a fence adjacent to the airport and was on airport property. It's no fun to hit a cow - either for the animal or the pilot.
After Punta Gorda we train for Sun & Fun. Sun & Fun is another old favorite where we run into lots of friends for the first time in the season. We also take advantage of this by getting together with other akro pilots and our coach and training together for "spring training."
Lots of great airshows coming up this year, and stay tuned for more news.
Duane Cole, one of the pioneers of modern aerobatic competition and the air shows that give it an audience, has died at the age of 89. Cole died of natural causes at his home in Burleson, Texas. Cole spent his whole life in aerobatics and air shows and wrote nine books on the subject. Wayne Handley, who legitimately wears the mantle of aerobatic legend himself, said Cole was, "A giant. He had a very profound effect on the aerobatic world," said handley. "He loved aerobatics saw their value and preached the gospel of safety." He will be missed!
Patty is featured in the January/February Issue
of the beautiful glossy "AutoPilot" magazine.
Journalist Walter J. Knapp interviewed Patty.
Patty is the first female to be on the cover. Please check out the website
http://www.autopilotmagazine.com,
Check the