High-flying tricks and death defying stunts kept an estimated 20,000 people entertained last weekend during the Wetaskiwin Air Show.
Nine pilots from around North America brought their planes Aug. 4 and 5 to show off their aerobatics skills and push their bodies to unheard of g-forces.
Dean Billingsley, president of the air show, said the committee hosts the event every two years because of the size and organizational challenges. Not only do they manage pilots and attendees but there are more than 150 volunteers who work to make things run smoothly.
“It’s such a big event to put on,” he said.
The air show works closely with the Reynolds-Alberta Museum to ensure things go well. “It’s a world class facility.”
He feels this is one of the ways it can showcase Wetaskiwin and the museum. This year the group hosted a rock and roll concert at the Loons Golf Course with seven tribute bands who entertained partygoers.
Billingsley hopes to give attendees an entertaining weekend and the stunt pilots a chance to do what they do best, fly.
“We want to make sure they worry about flying and nothing else,” explained Billingsley.
Pilots’ fuel and other flying necessities are taken care of while at the air show as their hobby can be quite expensive; a 15-minute flight can cost hundreds of dollars.
“Even a small show as this, our budget is well over $250,000,” he said.
Among the pilots who performed at the air show was Kent Pietsch (pronounced peach), from Minot, N.D. The 54-year-old has clocked more than 38,000 hours in the air, mostly commercial. He retired from Northwest Airlines in 2007 to pursue his love for stunt flying with a 1942 Interstate Cadet. According to Billingsley, what Pietsch can do with the unassuming Cadet is next to “miraculous.” Some of his stunts include landing his plane on the back of a truck and “crash” landing it after he purposefully makes it fall apart in the air.
“From 6,000 feet in the sky I turn off the engine and land it,” said Pietsch.
The affable stunt pilot had a low altitude crash after Saturday’s performance but is reported to be in stable condition. Witnesses state the plane’s wing clipped a wheat field close to the runway, which ripped the wing off and spun around. He then stepped out of the plane and lay down in the field, after which he was taken to the hospital. Pietsch was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
The stunt pilot did take Ponoka News up in the air for a 15-minute thrill ride Aug. 3 for a special press preview. Pietsch showed off his “dog-fighting” skills with another pilot. He was able to manipulate the plane to do a few barrel rolls and an inside loop (360-degree loop) to show off his stunt flying prowess.
Among the vintage aircraft at the air show was a Pitts Special S2S biplane flown by Bill Carter. With more than 260 horsepower Carter was able to fly his plane throughout the sky as if it was a model airplane.
Another pilot at the air show was Jerzy Stryzyz, flying a Russian Sukhoi 26 MX aerobatics plane. Originally from Poland, Stryzyz has clocked more than 13,000 hours. He flew in Poland but started out in Canada in 1989 as a bush pilot in northern Canada.
“I’ve got a lot (of stories), but not printable,” Stryzyz joked.
The air show brought several media companies to the press day including CBC, CTV, Wetaskiwin Times and Discovery Channel. Billingsley said the Discovery Channel crew was working on a documentary on the industry in general.