Air show flies into cloudy weather

Published 5:00 pm Sunday, September 18, 2011

WARRENTON This years Astoria Air Show promoted itself as celebrating the 100th year of Naval aviation, the 200th birthday of Astoria, and Astoria being a Coast Guard city.

Since all that doesnt fit too well on a T-shirt, just call it Astoria loves airplanes.

After all, airshows are recognized as one of the top spectator sports in the world.

The Oregon International Air Show in Hillsboro draws an annual crowd of 65,000, and the recent Chicago Air and Water Show pulled in 1.7 million.

And on a cloudy, foggy and eventually rainy day on the North Coast, some 1,000 or so showed up at the Astoria Regional Airport at Warrenton to watch some aerobatics, an F-15 fly-over and a U.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue demonstration not bad, considering a good portion of the air show was scaled back because of the weather.

As the Coast Guard concluded their SAR demonstration, the rains came and ended the show at about 3 p.m.

For the planes that perform the aerobatic performances, we need to have a 1,500-foot ceiling and at least three miles visibility, said Air Boss John Raichl, explaining FAA rules about airshows.

A former airshow performer himself, Raichl said, if that does not occur, then we have to shut everything down. Rain doesnt necessarily stop it it all amounts to cloud base and visibility.

Still, the annual Astoria Air Show always manages to pull in the crowds.

Many are there to show their appreciation for the Coast Guard; many more come to look at airplanes; and some show up hoping to take a flight (as always, weather permitting).

Local vendors have booths inside one hangar, with meals served by the Coast Guard Spouses Association and Astoria Lions Club; while in the Coast Guard hangar, local residents can learn all they want about the agency, as well as visit with crew members.

Visitors are free to tour the Coast Guards vast amount of inventory, including boats, planes and helicopters. Basically, the Astoria Airshow is like a Saturday market with airplanes.

And the annual event isnt just for locals. Visitors this year included Boy Scouts Troop 423 (the King Cobras) from Tigard.

We were at Fort Stevens, and we saw the flyer on this, and decided to come here, support the food bank, have a pancake breakfast, and get out of cooking a meal, said troop leader George Klein.

But be careful you might get what you wish for.

After a hot summer in Tigard, we needed to come down here for some cooler weather, Klein said. Im hoping its going to rain.

There was no official attendance announced (admission and parking is always free), but it wasnt a bad turnout.

The ramp area is huge, so it takes a lot of crowd to fill it up, Raichl said. We see a pretty good crowd by the Coast Guard hangar.

Weve always been proud of this facility, he said. If it hadnt been for the military building this airport, the local taxpayers could not be able to afford to build a facility like this.

It really is a nice facility, and were proud of it.

Saturday highlights included opening ceremonies (with the National Anthem played by the Astoria High School marching band), followed by a fly-over of two F-15s from the Oregon Air National Guard.

The jets made the fly-over, then disappeared into the clouds.

Their time is limited by when they come over, because they have to do the final day of opening for the Pendleton Round-Up, Raichl said. It would be nice to go from here to Pendleton in 20 minutes, but I guess you have to be on an F-15 to do it.

Another airshow feature was barnstorming, 1930s-style, in a restored 1929 TravelAir biplane.

The plane will remain at the airport this week, with pilots Dana Andersen and Jim Grant offering rides to the public.

After today, the rides will be by appointment, said Grant, who normally offers rides in Seaside during the summer.

Andersens 1929 TravelAir was first owned by the federal government, Andersen said. It had a siren on it, and we think it was used in chasing bootleggers, believe it or not.

The government liquidated it out of their service, and it went into hauling passengers until about 1939. They took it apart to do some work on it, the war started, and I bought it 60-some years later, when it was a pile of parts on the floor. We flew it about four years ago for the first time in almost 70 years.

His passengers certainly get a thrill out of riding in a biplane, and its fun for Andersen, too. Its just like taking people from the modern era of aviation to the beginning of aviation, he said.

Everybody comes back with a smile. Nobody comes back unhappy after riding in a biplane. Theres nothing like it.

 

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