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Hi all,
Labor Day is very fast approaching, and
I've got plenty of up-to-the-minute information for you all.
Weather:
For the first time I can remember, the
Labor Day weather forecast is unbelievably good.
Weather.com is currently predicting sunny skies, a high of
74F degrees, and winds from 4mph out of the SE. It wouldn't
surprise me to see the forecast changed to Thunder-snow
sometime between now and Sunday evening, but if the forecast
ends up being even close to correct, we're going to have a
spectacularly nice September 5th for flying.
Don't get spoiled. Even if we luck out
this year, we'll be back to 93F degrees and 40 mph gusts
next year, I'm sure.
Flying
Schedule:
Attached is the most current version of Monday's expected
Labor Day Air Show Schedule.
Pilot Jim Thurman has confirmed that he
will be joining us again this year, and he is now slated for
a 12:40PM Pilot's Choice segment. Jim really flew
brilliantly at the 2009 Labor Day Air Show, and it will be a
real treat having him back in the line-up.
Dick Behrens and Larry Bailey contacted me
about adding an Electric Glider segment, so we have that
scheduled at 2:15PM with Larry Bailey as the Electric Glider
segment coordinator.
Dave Ross expressed some interest in flying with
his son, Sam, in the trainer segment. I've restructured the
early part of the schedule to including the Trainer
Segment. It will begin with Casey and Gary Vohnout
demonstrating basic flight control to the crowd while the
instructors and students take off. When Gary and Casey are
finished, the trainer planes will already be air-born and
the announcers will be able to segway seamlessly into the
Trainer Segment. Bob Wheeler doesn't know it yet, but he
will be the Segment Leader for Trainers.
I squeezed in a
segment for Snoopy to fight the Red Baron. As I type this,
I don't know if the flying lawn mower will make it to the
air show or not. If it does, we'll use it to fill in if
another segment gets scratched for some reason.
Parking
Considerations:
The
front line of parking stalls along the railroad tie wall
will be reserved for handicapped parking for spectators.
The parking stalls normally available next to the picnic
shelter will be blocked off for Concessions and Raffle Tent
use.
I would appreciate it if as many pilots as
possible could arrive early, drop off their gear, and take
their vehicles off to the parking lot just northwest of the
picnic shelter. We need to leave as many parking spots as
possible open for spectator use that are inside the gate to
Hawk Field.
We don't want to make unloading and parking
a hassle, but there isn't a point to hosting the air show if
spectators can't park to watch the show. Thanks in advance
for your help.
Opportunities to Pitch In and Help:
For
folks who are looking for areas to help out, there are
plenty of areas where an extra hand would be really
appreciated:
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Ken
Heimbuch will be looking for volunteers to help walk
around the spectator areas with donation jars.
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Mike and
Molly Berger would appreciate two extra folks to help
sell raffle tickets in the raffle tent.
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Roger
Brodd would greatly appreciate any volunteers who can
help out with the main concession area, even for half an
hour or so to give his regular crew a break.
-
Carmel
Earl is putting together baked goods to sell. Sending
cookies or brownies packaged up in bags and ready to
sell for $1 each would really help out.
-
We've
been really fortunate by the overall lack of crashes
during the last few Labor Day Air Shows. Having
somebody organize a "Search and Rescue" team to stand by
in case somebody goes down in the woods sure sounds like
a good idea. Hopefully such a team would be bored, but
if we do lose a trainer or sport plane out in the woods,
it would be nice if the pilots or segment leaders knew
it was being searched for and they could continue
focusing on running their segments.
If you'd like to volunteer to help out in
any of these areas, please let me know. I will put you in
touch with the folks heading up the area of your choice.
What
happens before the 12:00PM Noon start to the air show?
We'll need hearty and helpful folks out at the field
beginning around 8AM to begin setting up Public
Address equipment, sun shades, concessions, and to help
pilots unpack their vehicles before moving them out to the
north parking lot. My wife doesn't know it yet, but I'll
probably put her in charge of having doughnuts and hot
coffee available for folks helping set up early Monday
morning.
The flight line will be available for the
tuning and testing of glow/gas engines no earlier than
9:00AM. We try to be good neighbors with the folks who live
around Standing Bear Lake, so avoid the use of IC engines or
participating in scream therapy prior to 9AM.
We will have a pilot meeting at 11AM sharp
in the pit area at the center of the runway. Please be
present for the pilot meeting; we'll be able to get
questions answered and match pilots to segment leaders as
needed.
At 11:45AM, all test flying and tuning will
cease in preparation for the launch of the Red, White, and
Blue aircraft and the singing of the national anthem.
Once the show begins at 12PM noon,
DO NOT
bother the announcers, Steve Peck and
Ward Neesen, with questions while they're trying to MC the
event. Steve Culver and Ed Paasch are the flight line
bosses (you'll be introduced to us at the pilot meeting that
you won't be late for), and they will work with pilots and
segment leaders to resolve any problems or answer questions
as needed.
Feel free to contact me with any additional
thoughts or questions. This is going to be a really
terrific air show. I'm looking forward to working with all
of you to raise money for Make-A-Wish of Nebraska and to
have a great time while doing it! I'll see you at Hawk
Field Monday morning.
Ed Paasch
(402) 510-8730
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