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The Performers: |
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Pitts Special S2C Biplane: Ribbon Cut Pilot: Fred Cabanas This is the opening act of the show! Incredibly, this aerobatic biplane will swoop down over show center and cut a ribbon that will be held up on either end by two very tall, courageous 'volunteers'!
Fred learned to fly at the age of 16 and has amassed over 20,000 hours since. He holds multi engine, instrument, commercial and seaplane ratings. He has flown over 50 types of aircraft ranging from the venerable DC-3 cargo aircraft through warbirds to crop dusters. However, his first love is flying the tiny Pitts Special aerobatic bi- plane at air shows and in aerobatic competitions. He is an aerobatic competency evaluator for the International Council of Air Show, the organisation that approves display pilots flying on the United States display circuit. In addition to his many qualifications, Fred is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild and has flown in numerous movies and TV shows. Fred also races high performance warbirds at the famous Reno Air Races. Flying the Hawker Sea Fury, probably the most powerful piston engined aircraft ever built, Fred, as a newcomer to the event in 2005, was placed 8th overall, an outstanding achievement in the unforgiving, high performance world of air racing. Today Fred will be flying both the P-51D Mustang and the Pitts S2-C Special fully aerobatic biplane. Adding an extra dimension to the show Fred will also be carrying out a ribbon cut by flying the Pitts Special inverted through a series of ribbons held above the runway by a team of fearless volunteers! Fred is married to Susan, who will be with us for the show, and they live in Key West. Fred dedicates his air show performances to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.
Flight Adventures Skydiving Team (FAST) Skydivers: Rich Piccirilli, Mike O'Toole, Greg Nicol and Neil Perks This next act will be a four-man skydive demonstration - a free fall from 7,500 feet, complete with aerial manuevering, smoke and flags.
The Jump in detail: Neil M. Perks
Extra 300: Solo Aerobatics Pilot: Jack Knutson
Jack Knutson is 40 years old and grew up in St. Cloud MN. He has been a professional air show performer since 1992, and currently has over 10,000 hours of flight time. Jack has a degree in Finance and lives in New Waterford, OH. When not flying, he enjoys motorcycles, snowmobiling, soccer and tennis. The Extra Flugzeugbau Extra 300 is an unlimited-level aerobatic two-seat monoplane aircraft. It was designed by Walter Extra, a retired aerobatic pilot, in 1987. The Extra 300 was developed from the early 80's Extra 230 but the wing is no longer made of wood. The aircraft is based on a welded steel tube fuselage covered in fiberglass and fabric. The mid-set wing has a carbon fiber composite spar and fiberglass skins. A symmetrical airfoil, mounted with a zero angle of incidence, provides equal performance in both upright and inverted flight. The landing gear is fixed taildragger style with composite main legs and fiberglass wheel pants. The powerplant is a fuel-injected Lycoming AEIO-540 which produces 300 horsepower (224 kW). General characteristics
Radio Controlled Models: Flying Demonstration Pilot: John Morrison of Tortola.
Firebirds Delta Team: Aerobatics Duo Pilots: Jack Knutson & Rob Holland This will be a duel aerobatics presentation.
Yak 52: Solo Aerobatics Pilot: Larry Schlasinger, FAA airshow pilot examiner
Larry Schlasinger started flying in 1986 after return from a three year stay in europe. Says Larry, "I originally only wanted to fly a seaplane so I could visit the wilderness of Canada, but soon found I like flying as much as fishing and exploring." Since then, Larry has accumulated about 9000 total flying hours since in single engine, multi engine, turbo prop and jet aircraft. He started in aerobatics almost immediately after getting his first license as he "thought it a good idea to understand how an aircraft reacts in extreme flight attitudes". The initial practice included spins, loops, rolls and hammerheads, all done in a Cessna 150. Then in 1988 Larry bought the first Yak 50 aircraft that the Soviet Union released from their national aerobatic team and learned to fly these single seat aircraft by reading Neil Williams book on aerobatics. This lead to putting an airshow routine together and the result is a 20 year career of flying airshows around the world. Designated an FAA airshow pilot examiner by the FAA and also holds ATP, A&P, IA ratings. "The Yak I'm currently flying is a 2003 tailwheel model manufactured at the factory in Baccau, Romania. I bought this aircraft specifically for the BVI airshow as other Yak-52 models have much less fuel and normally not enough to reach the BVI, as I found out on 1999 when I flew my old model to the BVI and almost ran out of fuel on the leg from Provo to Puerta Plata." The current aircraft has 400 horsepower and weighs about 3000 pounds. This is NOT an aerobatic aircraft, but a military aircraft capable of aerobatics. Spectators should keep this in mind when comparing performance to the new and high power aerobatic planes. This Yak is similar in performance to the heavy, old AT-6 WWII trainer which reacts slowly and is difficult to fly in a low level aerobatic routine.
P-51 Mustang Pilot: Fred Cabanas Today's most recognized WWII warbird.
NORTH AMERICAN P-51D MUSTANG Originally designed in response to an order from the Royal Air Force in May 1940, the Mustang created the first of the many records attributed to the aircraft with the prototype being rolled out only 117 days after the order was placed. The early models, powered by the Allison V-1710 engine were found to be fast and agile fighters performing best at low to medium level. However, the major development of the aircraft that led it become a major weapon in the air war in Europe was the mating of the Rolls Royce Merlin engine to the North American airframe. This, the P-51B/C model had an optimum performance of 441 mph at 25,000 feet with the capability of reaching an absolute ceiling of 40,000 feet. The addition of two 75 USG drop tanks extended the range of the aircraft to 1650 miles enabling the Mustang to escort American daylight bombing raids deep into enemy territory providing protection from the defending German fighters. The protection of the bomber fleets and the air supremacy over Europe was a decisive factor in the winning of the Second World War and the P-51Mustang was instrumental in this. The final major development of the P-51 Mustang came in came in the Spring of 1944 with the introduction of a redesigned rear fuselage incorporating a bubble canopy providing all round visibility. This effectively eradicated the blind spots common in most aircraft and several pilots improved the situation even further by the addition of rear view mirrors borrowed from motor vehicles. In 1945, the Truman Senate War Investigation Committee declared the P-51 Mustang to be: “ the most aerodynamically perfect pursuit plane in existence” The aircraft went on to serve with 30 Air Forces across the globe and the last Mustangs were retired from active service, by the Dominican Republic Air Force, in 1984. Of the 15,875 Mustangs built less than 300 remain in existence and of these only 158 are in airworthy condition. In 1945 the unit cost of a P-51D was $50, 985 – now a fully restored, airworthy Mustang changes hands for around $2million. P-51D Specifications
MX2: Solos Aerobatics Pilot: Rob Holland
Rob Holland has never known a time where he was not completely obsessed with Aviation and Aerobatics. At a young age his Dad brought him to an airshow where he saw an airplane flying upside down, and knew that was what he HAD to do. He has been flying now since the age of 18 and has accumulated greater than 8500 hours of flight time in over 156 different types of aircraft ranging from Piper Cubs to Regional Transport Aircraft, gliders to high performance aerobatic machines. Rob graduated from Daniel Webster College in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Management and a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Flight Operations. Rob is rated as an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) with a Certified Flight and Ground Instructor (CFI, CFII, IGI, AGI) rating and also holds a glider rating. Rob has had a diverse aviation career so far: flight instructor, banner tow pilot, aircraft ferry pilot, Pilatus PC-12 corporate pilot, and commuter airline pilot. He currently works full time both domestically and abroad as an professional airshow pilot and an aerobatic flight instructor. Rob’s infectious, upbeat, and approachable demeanor makes him a favored crowd-pleaser at airshows. His complete love of aviation is immediately apparent to everyone who meets him. Rob hopes to instill into others his insatiable desire to excel and for them to activly persue their goals and dreams. The MX2 is a 285+ horsepower masterpiece powered by the Lycoming AEIO-540 Aerobatic Engine that gives airshow fans a whole new perspective at what an aircraft can do. The MX2 can pull a G-load of plus and minus 16 G’s -- that means tighter turns and loops and a whole variety of maneuvers that will redefine the word “aerobatic”. The MX2 can roll at an astronomical 400+ degrees per second, where viewers will see only a blur. The MX2 is constructed entirely of pre-impregnated epoxy carbon fiber composite material that is of the highest grade. With the maneuvers that Rob will take the aircraft through, quality and safety is of primary importance. MX2 Aircraft Specifications
Falcon 900 Flypast: Height & Speed Contest Pilot: Graham Abraham The mighty Falcon 900... how high and how fast is it? You can take your best guess, for a chance to win some great prizes!
Pitts S2C Biplane: Solo Aerobatics Pilot: Fred Cabanas
Twin Otter: Flypast The Twin Otter is an amphibious float plane, capable of landing on both water and land. Service by Seaborne Airlines to the BVI commenced in 2007, with the opening of a seaport terminal in Gun Creek, Virgin Gorda. de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The DHC-6 Twin Otter is a 19 passenger Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada and designed as a twin engined replacement for the Company’s earlier, rugged and successful Otter aircraft. Development of the Twin Otter began in 1964. The twin engines not only provided improved safety but also allowed for an increase in payload while maintaining the renowned STOL capability of its predecessor. Design features include double slotted trailing edge flaps and ailerons that work in unison with the flaps to boost the STOL performance. de Havilland offered a number of options in landing gear, the conventional tricycle undercarriage, skis, and floats. This versatility makes the twin Otter an adaptable bush plane ideal for the rugged conditions found in the northern areas including Canada and the United States, particularly in Alaska. Many Twin Otters still serve in the far north but they can also be found in Africa, Australia, the Antarctic and other remote areas where bush planes are the optimum and sometimes only form of transport. The aircraft is ideally suited to short field operations and could comfortably operate into and out of Anegada and Virgin Gorda airports. A total of 844 Twin otters were delivered before production ceased in 1988. However, the aircraft became increasing popular and has become something of an icon. Demand for second hand aircraft grew as new, ‘thin’ passenger and freight routes were developed and the value of the aircraft rose to exceed the price originally paid even allowing for inflation. Such is the demand for the Twin Otter that a new production line is being opened by Viking Air of Victoria to produce an up rated 400series of the aircraft. Production is due to commence later in 2008 and so far there have been 40 firm orders and 10 options for the 400 series aircraft. Today, the DHC-6-300 twin Otter is being demonstrated by Seaborne Airlines who provide domestic and international services from their headquarters at St Croix to St Thomas, St John, San Juan and Virgin Gorda flying the floatplane version of the aircraft. De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter Capacity 19 passengers
US Coast Guard: SAR Demonstration The USCG Search & Rescue operations in this region are conducted from U.S. Coast Guard Base Borinquen, which is located at the NW tip of Puerto Rico.
Search And Rescue Demonstration The Search and Rescue (SAR) demonstration will be provided by an HH-65C Dolphin helicopter based at the US Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen in Puerto Rico. Helicopters from the unit are responsible for providing SAR cover across the Caribbean and often visit Tortola both on active missions and to exercise with Virgin Islands Search And Rescue (VISAR) the local voluntary organisation The standard Search and Rescue flight crew for the HH-65C is 4 people, the Aircraft Commander, a Co-pilot, a Flight Mechanic and a Rescue Swimmer. The Aircraft Commander has the overall responsibility for executing the mission and ensuring the safety of the aircraft and crew whilst the co pilot assists the Aircraft Commander with mission planning and radio communications. The flight mechanic operates the hoist when needed to deploy the Rescue Swimmer or pick-up survivors. The Rescue Swimmer is a certified Emergency Medical Technician and can be deployed to the water to assist survivors, provide medical response and recommend the best course of action to the Aircraft Commander. The US Coast Guard purchased 94 of the twin engined Aerospatiale Dauphin helicopters in 1984. The aircraft were built to a specialised Search and Rescue configuration and were designated the HH-65. The name Dolphin was applied to the aircraft in recognition of its predominately maritime role. The HH-65 fleet is deployed in small flights of four aircraft across the United States from Kodiak, Alaska in the north, Hawaii in the west, to Borinquen in the south. HH-65C Dolphin Short Range Recovery Helicopter
Four-Ship Flypast with Smoke: Pitts S2C, Yak 52, Xtra 300, MX2 Pilots: Fred Cabanas, Larry Schlasinger, Jack Knutson and Rob Holland A final formation display of all four types of aerobatics aircraft in the show.
Cessna Sovereign It ranges the U.S.A. coast-to-coast, nonstop. Cruises 459 knots (529 mph). Operates from short 3,600-foot runways. And dwarfs its rivals with the largest double-club cabin in its class.
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