At Denton’s Airshow, suicidal nosedives at 220 mph are the norm (at least for this guy)
n the runway, an experimental Wolf Pitts S-1T biplane readies for takeoff. Inside the cockpit, in a space barely large enough for a grown man, Mike Gallaway surveys the dials and gauges, checking the oil pressure and engine temperature readings. He’s strapped in so tight he’s practically one with his plane. He needs to be. When he’s spinning and looping in the sky, g-forces make it seem like he’s about to get sucked out of his seat -- or perhaps explode. Gravity can make his 200-pound body feel like it weighs 1, 200 pounds, all of it straining at his seatbelt as he performs accelerated turns and loops at unnervingly low altitudes. Minutes tick away as he waits on the runway for several old warbirds to touch down. “If you don’t have nerves then,” says Mike later, “you are not alive.”
It’s his turn. The airboss wishes him a safe flight and Mike shuts the canopy. “The box is yours,” the radio crackles. “Copy, airboss,” Mike replies and revs the engine up to 2,900 rpm. He gives the propeller full power forward, releases the brakes, and the red-and-white plane launches forward like a rocket. The force pushes Mike back against his seat. As the wheels lift off, he ignites the show smoke and accelerates, reaching 100…110…120 miles per hour. He pitches to the right, pulls back hard on the stick, and pushes hard right rudder, twisting the plane so violently all he sees is blue sky, green ground, blue sky, green, blue, green … all of it blurring together as he performs three snap rolls barely off the ground.
It’s the nail-biting signature opener of Mike’s three-part, 12-minute performance at the annual Denton Airshow put on at Denton Airport by the non-profit Denton Air Fair, Inc., David Schultz Airshows, the airport and the City of Denton. Mike, an aerobatic pilot with 13 years airshow experience and a thirst for adrenaline rushes, is just one of the dozens of pilots showing off for a crowd expected to hit 10,000 on Father’s Day this year.
Renowned performers like the nationally known pilot Jan Collmer, flashy air soloist Jason Newberg and even the Blue Angels, the Navy’s elite flight team, have headlined performances in previous years. The airshow has something for everyone, from vintage warbirds and teams specializing in precision aerobatic formations to military jets breaking the sound barrier and educational military aircraft demos. Best of all, most of the vintage aircraft from World War II are not treated like museum specimens at the show, but many are left open so curious kids and adults can climb in the cockpit themselves.
At a deeper level, the Denton Airshow represents a modern-day Kitty Hawk, luring flying enthusiasts, pilots, veteran airmen and students to share the fascination the Wright brothers experienced over 100 years ago when aviation was born. What was once a local event drawing around 3,000 has now tripled its average attendance record, brought in more elite aerobatic performers and gained a reputation as a premier airshow, with substantial support from local airport sponsors and the savvy of airshow guru David Schultz, a nationally known airboss whose company has coordinated over 250 shows. Hobbyists and locals alike have come to expect military acts (the F-18 demonstration team), formation teams (Trojan Phlyers), aerobatic daredevils (Mike) and iconic guests, such as Glenn McDuffie, the sailor photographed kissing a young lady in Times Square at the end of World War II who showed up last year. It’s far from being a large, crowded airshow though; it maintains a more personal feel between spectators and pilots. “Frankly, I enjoy the smaller airshows. You get closer to the crowd,” local warbird pilot Ray Kinney says.
While the military jets are the biggest draw at airshows, the warbirds still evoke appreciation and hold meaning for several generations. Ray is one of those airmen. While chasing down enemy submarines off the coast of Vietnam in the early ’60s, he became enamored with flight – so much so that he no longer wanted to be in the backseat of the Grumman S2F Tracker he flew in. He wanted to be the pilot. So after his last final exam at North Texas State University (now UNT), he immediately went to the airport and bought his first flying lesson. He trained at tiny Hartlee Field located just northeast of Denton and now he has flown the Navy Corsair, the P-40 Warhawk and the T-6 Texan at Denton Airshow. “The freedom the individual has, it’s phenomenal. I’m happy to look at the world from 1,000 feet,” Ray says of flying.
On show day, the sky fills with famous World War II fighter planes, such as the P-51 Mustang and the P-40 Warhawk, as well as transport planes including the Douglas DC-3 and bomber jets such as the B-17. A number of warbirds are flown in for display on the ground, giving everyone an opportunity to see them up close. Think of it as a history lesson without the textbook, says Amanda Addington, marketing director for Denton Air Fair, Inc. “Sometimes people will see what’s happened in movies, or in documentaries, and then they get to see real aircraft and they are stunned at how much bigger they are,” she says.
Some of the historical planes are the last surviving specimens in the world. Denton Air Fair committee chairman Don Smith, a biology professor in his day job, says the B-24 and B-17 bombers produced by the tens of thousands during WWII now number in the tens. Most of the behemoths have been cut up and used for scrap; some were used for research and others as missile-testing targets. Only 15 B-17 Flying Fortresses, the bombers used against Germany in World War II, can still fly. Of the 18,000 B-24 Liberators built in WWII (including some manufactured in the Dallas/Fort Worth area), only two remain airworthy, the professor says.
Of course, their modern-day counterparts are also very popular. “I just love the high-powered military jets, I mean that’s me. The more noise, the more shaking they make, the more chills that go up my spine. I love the F-18 Hornet, the F-16s, those are the types of planes I just love to watch,” Air Fair committee vice president Jeff Soules says, laughing. Jeff is the senior vice president and general manager of US Aviation Group, one of the largest companies at Denton Airport and a frequent airshow sponsor, but he says his addiction to fast planes started long ago. “I’ve loved them since I was a kid.”
Jeff’s 7-year-old son, Jesse, is a fan too, having attended airshows since he was 2. Posters of airplanes hang on the walls of his room, model replicas line the shelves, planes fill his toy chest, and dreams of flying buzz in his head. The airshow is Jesse’s opportunity to check out his favorites, the biplanes, up close and 50 times bigger than the ones in his room. “They’re fun and they’re fast,” he says, with respect and awe in his voice.
Part of what has made the show popular was the decision to move the event to Father’s Day each year and to bring in more entertainment for younger children at the Children’s Pavilion. Considering that Denton’s airshow costs upwards of $50,000 and requires hundreds of volunteer hours and sponsorship of Denton Airport and community businesses, the entry fee is a bargain for the combo of adrenaline rush, history lesson and Father’s Day gift all in one, says Jeff. “I haven’t met a dad yet that doesn’t like to go to the airshow.”
The Denton Airport has grown as much as the airshow. With only 50 percent of the land developed, airport manager Quentin Hix is looking forward to expanding the runway to 7,000 feet and adding taxiway space for 34 new hangars. In the next few years, the airport will be a revenue creator, attracting more flight-related businesses and jobs. The airshow will benefit too. “We’ve made progress on many fronts,” Ray Kinney says. “A big part is funding.” The more sponsors underwriting the show, the more rare aircraft and rare pilots like Mike the Air Fair will pull in.
Mike is a nerves-of-steel pilot who has twice represented the U.S. Aerobatic Team in the Advanced World Aerobatic Championship – and will do so again this year in Poland at age 44. Yet he didn’t get his flying license until he was 30. At first, he couldn’t get over his fear of stalls – that sudden reduction in lift – but a basic aerobatics course got him hooked. For the past 13 years, he has been pushing the limits of his pumped-up plane by performing suicidal nosedives at 220 miles per hour, blasting upwards at mind-bending angles and intentionally stalling his plane. Ask him about his favorite maneuvers and he’ll pull out a toy airplane and describe tricks with names like lomcevak (Czech for a maneuver where the plane tumbles gyroscopically end over end) and hammerhead (plane goes straight up, slows almost to a stop, tilts over, then dives straight down). Ask him how he does them and he’ll reply, “All those maneuvers are sort of like Houdini’s bag of tricks. I could tell you how to do it, but I’d have to kill you.”
Like a mad scientist in his lab, Mike is already concocting new stunts for this year. At his hangar in McKinney, Mike pulls out two 10-foot-long poles. “I’ll probably be doing the ribbon cut,” he says. The stunt requires Mike to fly upside down only 12 feet off the ground and cut a thin ribbon strung between the poles with his propeller. The margin for error is as thin as the ribbon he’ll cut. If he’s just a split-second off or he nudges the stick a little too hard, he’ll crash into the runway. Nevertheless, “that’s what’s on the agenda,” Mike says without missing a beat, his chuckle revealing a give-me-flight-or-give-me-death mentality the Wright brothers would understand. “When you get done and you have a nice landing and wave to the crowd, you just feel great and give a great big fist pump,” Mike says.
Nerves, what nerves?
by juan guajardo