In the air! It's a bird. It's a...
Jasper Air Show ready to take flight
By SHARON KERR Staff Writer

Courtesy photo VINTAGE AIRPLANES will fill the Jasper skies this weekend when the Jasper Air Show is held at the county airport.

The show in the skies begins at noon Saturday, March 31, and at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 1, for the fourth annual Jasper Air Show, but as to the precise schedule...well, they'll be "winging it" (pun intended) according to Debbie Foster at KJAS Radio.

Gates open at 8 a.m. both days, $10 admission for adults and free to children 12 and under.

Arriving early gives attendees a chance to see the static displays of modern, vintage and radio-controlled aircraft, visit with pilots, shop the vendor booths and enjoy festival fare ranging from the Lions' Club sausageon a-stick to Blue Bell ice cream.

Sortie rides (20-30 minute local flights) are available on the B-25 for $300 per person, the Douglas C-47 for $125 per person, and the Navy SNJ for $150; reserve a seat by calling KJAS at 384-2626.

Ft. Polk in Louisiana is bringing a Black Hawk helicopter. Sgt. Patrick Rendin of the Texas National Guard is bringing a Hummer for display, and a climbing wall for the kids.

The new Jasper business Moonwalks-n-More will also have slides, bouncers and activities for small flyers.

At noon, Jasper Mayor David Barber kicks off the air show with a speech; Ray Mahaffey of Hillcrest Baptist Church will sing the national anthem, and Brian South of First Baptist Church will offer the opening prayer.

After that, it's all in the hands of the "air boss." This year's boss is David Anderson of Buna, who is responsible for deciding which pilots take wing and when.

Paul Fiala is one of the aerobatic pilots who loves to thrill crowds with a series of loops, rolls, spins, hammerhead turns and snap rolls. This is his 25th year of doing air shows, his 50th year of flying.

Fiala started flying at age 15 and had his commercial pilot's license before he graduated from high school. He has spent more than 40 years flying corporate planes and is chief pilot for the King Ranch, but flying all over the country for his employer still isn't enough air time for him.

"I taught myself to do stunts," Fiala said, "survived, and then went on to school to improve my stunt skills."

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently awarded him "Wright Brothers Master Pilot" status in recognition of 50 years of accident-free flying.

For the show, Fiala will be flying an open-cockpit bi-plane. "You know, like Snoopy and the Red Baron," Fiala said. He will also be flying with the Blue Angels in the Corpus Christi Navy air show April 14-15.

"I don't do competition flying," Fiala said. He flies for the love of it, and said he enjoys meeting and mingling with the crowds as much as the flying.

"You get where you recognize the kids from year to year," Fiala said. "You kind of watch them grow up."

Debbie Rihn Harvey, another aerobatics expert, does do competition flying and in fact is one of the highest-ranked female aerobatic pilots in the United States, according to Foster. She has won the Women's U.S. National Championship five years in a row.

Harvey said, "I've flown all my life. My Dad taught me at 13."

When she moved to Houston, she met a doctor who flew aerobatics. He taught her, and they cofounded a flying school.

"I got into aerobatics for safety," Harvey said. "It increases your perceptual awareness and you learn the limits of your plane and your own control of the plane."

She said learning to fly the plane in any attitude makes for a better pilot, but it also becomes addictive. Attitude in aeronautics refers to the relative position of the plane, as in flying upside down or at an angle to the horizon.

"We pride ourselves as pilots on our skills, and (aerobatics) is the ultimate control," Harvey said. She likened precision flying to gymnastics in a cube of air space.

"In the shows, people like to see planes tumbling or sliding backwards," Harvey said, "but those things aren't as difficult as precision flying." Which only goes to show that the air show can be enjoyed on many levels.

In addition to the stunt flying, the Texas Heat Wave from Dallas and Jasper Aero Modelers will demonstrate radio controlled aircraft. There will be stock car racing, the Parachute Jump Team from Houston, and a Lakes Area Cruiser Classic Car Show.

World War II bombers from the Commemorative Air force base in Midland will do fly-by's. Free children's first airplane rides will be offered by EAA chapters from Leesville, LA, and Lufkin.

Jasper County Bell Field Airport is on U.S. Highway 190 a few miles west of Jasper. Due to FAA safety regulations, no one is allowed to enter with an ice chest, large bag or back pack, and no dogs or other animals are allowed. You can bring lawn chairs, umbrellas, and other items for personal comfort, but things like diaper bags and hand-carried items are subject to search.