What's the dumbest thing YOU'VE done at an airshow?

[coldaffyduck]

Darn double post.

Last edited by coldaffyduck on Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[RyanShort1]

I guess my dumbest move was at the Doolittle Raiders event here last year. I was cranking up the Taylorcraft with my sister in the back, got distracted by some intercom issues (that never totally cleared up for the flight) and made a taxing error. It wasn't major, I was watching where I was going, there wasn't a collision hazard, and I was being walked out, but it was enough to get the tower to tell me about it. The good thing was when I apologized to the tower, they told me not to worry and that they wouldn't lose any sleep over it, if I promised not to lose any sleep over it. Lesson - even taxing you can overload yourself and make mistakes if you are not careful to remember rules, and stay focused on priorities.

Ryan

Last edited by RyanShort1 on Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[K5DH]

I've been going over this in my head for a while now. Thinking back to all of the air shows I've been to in the last 30-something years, I honestly can't think of any really dumb thing that I've done! Normally, that might be considered a good thing, but with this crowd, I feel like an outcast!

Dean the outsider

[RyanShort1]

Ya know... I just thought of one thing that was dumber! Three years ago at Randolph AFB, I was spending time with a co-worker who's also a licensed pilot. We were having a lot of fun, and in a moment of stupidity decided to stand in line at the SpamMobile... I guess we must've spent 30 minutes in that line. When we got there they gave you a tiny (and I do mean tiny) little piece of cracker-like bread with a small piece of nasty stuff on top. And they handed you a wrapped up sandwich slice for later. I think I took one SMALL bite of it, and the tried to feed it to a neighbor's dog, who as I recall, wasn't too enthralled either!

Ryan

[b29flteng]

We flew one of our C-130s into Midland for the show back in 97 or 98 for display and launch the Golden Knights at the start of each show. I remember the pilot telling us 1000 (my mind said 1100) engine start. So I did my preflight and had about an hour to kill so I wandered off. About 0959 I see the engines cranking over on the C-130 and I'm going "Oh S**t". Well now the flight line has been sterilized and I can't get there from here. So I went over to the FAA rep. in his golf cart and said "I need to be on that 130 out yonder". Being the Friendly Aviation Authority, he was there to help and gave me a ride to the aircraft. The crew chief had accomplished the engine start and quickly jumped out of the seat while the two pilots turned and looked at me kind of funny like (I don't know why) while I sat in the seat and buckled up. The show went off with out a hitch. I had to buy the crew beer that evening after the show. I always carry two copies of the airshow schedule now, and check in with the pilots ever five minutes or so, just in case I miss a schedule again!

[hang the expense]

At the airshow in mount comfort back in 91.I stole the coors beer truck and parked it behind Tallichets 17 that we had flown in the day before.We had all the beer we could drink for free for about an hour until they found us.I guess since we were crew they let it slide.Could have been bad.

[SaxMan]

I went to the first CAF "Wings of Eagles" Airshow in Frederick, MD in 1994 and didn't bring a hat or sunscreen. I didn't repeat that mistake.

One mistake which was repeated year after year was that the announcer at least once during the program would call the airport "Fredericksburg" instead of Frederick.

At one of the later airshows, as I was in line to park, a tanker truck carrying heavy cream pulled up alongside me. The top hatch was not locked down, and somehow the tanker "burped" showering my '85 LandCruiser with heavy cream. I had the window open too, so some got on me. As I parked, a couple of people who witnessed it came up to me with that "Holy Cow...I've never seen that before". A couple of others quoted the Subaru commercial that was airing at the time "They're cute when they're babies". A few other curious onlookers stared at my vehicle. I looked back at them, straight faced and said "Man, you should have seen the size of that bird!".

I couldn't stay to depressed about it for too long...the sound of four perfectly synchronized Wright Cylcone 1820s from Sentimental Journey passing overhead was enough to lift my spirits.

The Frederick Airshow in its heyday was a great show. IIRC, in '95 they had 5 B-17s: Texas Raiders, Sentinmental Journey, Fuddy Duddy, Yankee Lady and the Tallichet bird. Yankee Lady had just had its restoration completed and was absolutely spotless. In later years they couldn't even get a single B-17 to show up and it became more of a miltary hardware / reenactor show. The final year they had a TBM reunion and I believe they had at least 7 TBMs show. I couldn't attend as I had to take Lamaze classes with my wife. To add insult to injury the classes were in the FSK Mall, which was under the "turnaround" area for the air show. It drove me nuts to no end to keep hearing radial engines and not be able to go look at a window.

[RickH]

Craig, "Mighty Mouse " was later found to be the original Korean War " My Mary Lou ".

http://www.warbirdregistry.org/a26registry/a26-4435696.html

[Eric Friedebach]

We had a big 1x6 foot aluminum display case with a plexi lid on it FULL of enamel pins that we sold in the PX at shows.

I decided to unload it from the aircraft myself when someone else on the crew at the bottom of the steps hollered up to me “Hey Eric, need a hand with that?”

I spun around in the direction of the voice calling me and started to answer “Naw, I got it”, with the case in my arms and whacked the side of the fuselage, spilling every last one of those stupid pins.

[JDK]

I even overheard a guy on the bus once in the same boat who lost his rented plane, as the driver passed row after row, the guy says, "It's got to be here somewhere, it's a white Cessna."

It's just a matter of time:

Warbird pilot:
"I've lost my Mustang*!"

Helper to warbird pilot:
"What's it look like?"

"We'll, it's got D-Day stripes, and it's polished..."

"Can you narrow the description down just a little for us?"

"Um it's in an ace's scheme and it's a D model."

Helper just before departing...
"Well thanks."


(*Cessna of the Warbird World TM)

[RickH]

James, don't forget the blue nose !

[ZRX61]

Madera, about '91 or so. A26 takes off while there are a few Mustangs & a B25 in the circuit..... A26 catches & passes the B25 (Executive Suite) & sets off after the Mustangs which are in 2 groups. Catch & pass the first group & start chasing down the other mustangs when some authorative guy on the ground comes over the radio with "HEY!, Knock it off, this ISN'T Reno!"

Highlight of the trip: Sharing a cab back to the airfield on the Saturday night with Pam Tillis while she changed into her outfit to wear on stage that night. I got an eyeful I'd hit that like a salvation army tamborine

On the Sunday some guy asked if the bomb bay on the 26 worked, told him no, he asked us to "get it working & next time you come here do some urban renewal on Fresno"

[Old Shep]

"Volunteered" to be CAF Airsho chairman....for coming up on ten years.

Old Shep

[CAPFlyer]

I don't consider it dumb Shep. Sure, it's given you plenty of gray hairs (and even made some come up missing I'm sure), but it only gets better every year, so I think it's been a good thing.

(And yes, I am brown-nosing to ensure I never get on his bad side... )

I've been going over this in my head for a while now. Thinking back to all of the air shows I've been to in the last 30-something years, I honestly can't think of any really dumb thing that I've done! Normally, that might be considered a good thing, but with this crowd, I feel like an outcast!

Awh!!! come on now! .... you mean you don't remember that time you were standing in that crowd of people and farted and tried to blame it on your buddy standing next to you. ... and you thought you could get away with it ....