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Letter to the editor

AirFest has landed

By LIBBY NELSON, Times Staff Writer
Published October 20, 2007

A demonstration of Les Shockely's Shockwave Jet Truck during Media Day for St. Petersburg AirFest at Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg.
	[Martha Rial | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Martha Rial | Times] Pilot John Mohr , of St. Paul, Minnesota, flies over downtown St. Petersburg and Demen's Landing in his 1943 Steerman Friday morning in preparation for this weekend's St. Petersburg AirFest at Albert Whitted Airport.

ST. PETERSBURG - This year's St. Petersburg AirFest started a day early, with a bang.

A "jet truck," a 1957 Chevrolet pickup with two jet engines mounted in the bed, created so much noise and smoke during a demonstration early Friday morning that police cars and a fire truck arrived after receiving calls about an explosion.

The modified pickup, driven by Kansas stuntman Tony Hoium, can reach speeds of up to 405 mph. The act is a new addition to AirFest, which opens to the public at 10 a.m. today at Albert Whitted Airport.

Mayor Rick Baker was on hand for the demonstration, and organizers had warned the city about the truck, AirFest president Dave Thompson said. Still, the intensity came as a surprise. "We didn't know exactly what he was going to do," Thompson said.

Planners of the fourth annual show hope it will draw even more people than last year, when about 20,000 people attended.

"It's really become one of the very special events in St. Petersburg," Baker said. "Anybody who has kids ought to be out here."

Featured planes range from the futuristic, like the stunt plane made from carbon fibers instead of steel, to historic warplanes.

Part of the airfield will also host a replica of a French village for a World War II re-enactment, complete with 1940s aircraft.

Throughout the day, stunt pilots will fly straight up, upside down, and very close to the ground.

Stunt flier Paul Lopez of Zephyrhills specializes in steep vertical maneuvers. Though he is used to the humid Florida air, it can be a challenge for those who aren't, he said. "The air feels thick as a person, but it's actually thinner," he said.

One signature stunt for pilot Skip Stewart is a ribbon cutting: flying 10 feet above the ground to cut a ribbon with his plane.

"I do low, seemingly out-of-control, 'Oh my God, he's going to die' stuff," Stewart said.

Libby Nelson can be reached at 727 893-8779 or lnelson@sptimes.com.

Who benefits?

The St. Petersburg AirFest runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Adult tickets are $15; children ages 6 to 12 are $5; and free for children younger than 6 or anyone in active military.

Proceeds benefit Paralyzed Veterans of America, The Fisher House Foundation, Inc., Boys & Girls Club of the Suncoast and Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg.

Information: www.stpetersburgairfest.com or (727) 204-6282.

[Last modified October 19, 2007, 21:31:35]