ORISKANY, NY, Sept. 22, 2006 -- A diverse lineup of performers – from World War II-era planes to Russian YAKs to aerobatic biplanes looping over a flaming jet truck to screaming A-10 and F-15 combat jets – helped make the 2006 Regional Air Show one of the best ever at Oneida County Airport in Oriskany. The air show took place Sept. 16-17, plus provided some 800 school children with a NASA educational experience during the two days prior to the weekend show. 

“We had the best of the best,” show co-chair Joyce Oster Palmer said, noting that performers and fliers were calling until just days before the show asking to take part. 

She said the show was “very successful,” attracting an estimated 7,500-8,500 spectators and fans of aviation. 

People attended from throughout the state and from as far away as Wisconsin, Maine, and Maryland and Virginia, Palmer said.

"The comments were all positive," Palmer told the Rome Sentinel. “Everybody in the county can be very proud of this event."

She noted that county employees were very professional and they, along with a team of 125 volunteers, helped the show come off without a hitch. She thanked everyone involved – workers, volunteers, sponsors, exhibitors, vendors and performers – and noted that the Utica College hockey team stayed after the show to help clean up when workers and other volunteers were tired out.

She added that the Oneida County Aviation Association, the organizing sponsor of the show, was looking into the possibility of holding the show next year at what is expected to be the new Oneida County Airport location at Griffiss Airpark in Rome (formerly Griffiss Air Force Base). 

Through a lot of positive contacts made this year, she was confident that the next show would be even bigger.

The 2006 Regional Air Show capped the current airport’s 50-year history.

 Highlighting the air show was the “Masters of Extreme” MOX Team, featuring:

 -- Aerobatic ace Jim “Bulldog” LeRoy in his high-performance biplane. Bulldog is regarded as a premier solo performer, full of heart-stopping surprises. "He is the most extreme of the extreme fliers out there and is a must see," said Palmer.

 

-- Stunt barnstormer John Mohr in his stock 1943 Stearman biplane. Mohr performed exciting and difficult maneuvers in an aircraft that not only weighs twice as much as modern aerobatic planes, but uses only half the horsepower. “He makes his plane do things it just shouldn’t be able to do,” noted Palmer, “and is regarded by his peers as the best of the best.”

 

-- Kent Shockley’s ShockWave Jet Truck. Zooming down the runway at nearly 300 miles per hour in a deafening storm of flame and cloud, Kent’s 36,000 hp truck, mounted with three jet engines, performed alone and then again with LeRoy and Mohr in a dizzying display of aerial and ground feats. “This appealed to the race car and big truck enthusiasts, as well as aviation fans on every level,” Palmer said. “You will never see anything that is this fast, loud and visually awesome.” 

 Other performers included:

 -- U.S. Air Force Heritage Flight. An F-15 Eagle fighter jet boomed its way over the airport and then performed with a World War II-era P-51 Mustang fighter and a Korean War-era F-86 Sabre fighter jet. The Air Force pilots were Tony Bierenkoven in the F-15; Ed Shipley in the F-86, and Jim Beasley in the P-51.

 

-- Rick Volker in his Russian SUKHOI SU-26M. Volker, a dentist from Niagara Falls, is recognized as an upcoming performer on the air show circuit.

 

-- A-10 Thunderbolt Warthog attack jets from the Massachusettes Air National Guard.

 --  Brian Columbo and his Czechoslovakian C-2Q jet.

 -- A pair of YAK-52 Russian trainers, piloted by Bill Wade of Rotterdam, NY and Roy Card of Voorheesville, NY.

 

-- The 1941 Historical Aircraft Group (HAG) from Geneseo, with pilot Burt Sliker and co-pilot Bob Flesch flying a 1946 Ercoupe YO-55 decked out in the colors of the Tuskegee Airmen (red tail and checkerboard nose), and Don Nicholls piloting a 1950s L-21 replica with military colors. They all agreed the older aircraft were more fun to fly than new ones. “They’re a blast,” Flesch said, adding: “We’re pasture pilots and conservators (taking care of and restoring vintage airplanes).” They explained that HAG was a flying aircraft museum.

Highlighting the ground activities were outdoor static displays of vintage and modern aircraft such as a 1951 Grumman HU-16B Albatross amphibious plane; a C-130 Hercules transport, outfitted with skis for missions to the Antarctic, from Stratton Air National Guard Base near Schenectady, NY; an Army Huey Medivac helicopter from Fort Drum, NY; a Korean War-era T-6G trainer (an upgrade from the World War II-era T-6), decked out in bright yellow military colors; a Murphy Moose seaplane, a bush pilot favorite; a 1940 Piper Cub Coupe that gathered dust in a barn for 27 years before North Bay, NY, pilot Brian Alessi restored the wind under its wings three years ago; and several experimental aircraft including New Hartford, NY, pilot Ralph Humphreys’ kit-built Foxplane with wings that fold back for parking in a garage, and LaFargeville, NY, pilot Doug Johnston’s kit-built Safari helicopter.

 There were even miniature versions of well-known aircraft – the radio-controlled kind – being displayed by the Mohawk Valley Firebirds, an RC airplane cub operating out of Frankfort-Highland Airport, Frankfort, NY. For example, Firebirds President Tom Paciello showed off his Fock Wolf (FW) 190, a World War II German fighter, which, even at one-fifth scale, “clips along at about 100 miles per hour.”

 In addition to aviation-related displays, there were exhibits by law enforcement, public safety and emergency services agencies; the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Army and Air National Guards; the Civil Air Patrol (whose cadets provided the color guard for the opening ceremonies, plus guarded the flightline and stood watch over static displays), businesses, clubs, non-profit groups, and such sponsors as Homogenous Metals, Army National Guard and Clinton Tractor.

 Another highlight was the NASA Educational Experience. With walk-through exhibits and presentations, the experience thrilled young and old alike, and included everything from a 30-foot inflatable Space Shuttle and a real Space Suit to a Moon Rock display and photo booths that put you in space to an AeroSpace Educational Bus and its 17-seat air-conditioned theater. As a separate pre-show feature, NASA and local aerospace educators captivated some 800 students from area school districts, who were bussed in each morning and afternoon for the two days prior to the air show.