It is almost unbelievable how many highlights can be accommodated at a single event as was the case at the NAS Oceana Airshow. Apart from innumerable demonstrations of military machines one could also see numerous Warbirds along with some very spectacular aerobatic displays. Three of the best aerobatic pilots in North American demonstrated their abilities in this area. These pilots are as different as their aeroplanes they fly and the performances flown. While the forces of gravity seem to be non-existent on their agricultural aircraft, others seemed to redefine the word "Stunt" performing breathtaking manoeuvres in their brightly coloured machines. Such is the world of the aerobatics pilot!
First up was 36 year old Michael Goulian flying a CAP 232 sponsored by the Castrol Corporation. Delivering an extremely precise display, Michael performed his first aerobatic demonstration at the age of 17 and presently ranks amongst the elite of US aerobatic pilots. The CAP 232 is currently one of the most modern aerobatics machines of its type. The Cap 232 is manufactured by CAP Group Apex of Dijon France, and is powered by a 300 HP Lycoming IA-540 six cylinder piston engine providing a top speed of 406 km/h, weight is only 590kg empty and with a roll rate of 420° per second, it can withstand a g-force of +/- 10 G!

One of the best known of all American show pilots is Sean D. Tucker. The repeated champion’s display contains show stopping acts and numerous stunts, apart from the "regular" aerobatics figures, which naturally never fails to impress the public. The bright red Team ORACLE Challenger II biplane, which is a heavily modified Pitts Special S2S, is an additional attraction. Sean has logged over 20,000 flying hours in his flying career and has been a highlight of the North American airshow circuit since the 1970's. The Grande Finale to his display is as always the splitting of three bands suspended by posts one after the other with his wings while flying at absolute ground level. This breath-taking manoeuvre never fails to thrill the public, brining on an enthusiastic applause. Sean flies at the very limit in a realm far beyond that of a normal pilot. In the USA he has achieved a truly legendary status.

Another two legends of the North American Airshow circuit are Gene Soucy and his partner Teresa Stokes. No other pilot can look back on such an eventful career as Gene. His list of honours and achievements is seemingly endless, three times US and Canadian champion in the unlimited class and holds a world champion title with the Eagle Aerobatic team and innumerable cups and titles which adorn his "wall of fame". Gene has continuously been in this business since 1968 and has attended over 3000 events until today. The woman at his side and also his partner in show business is Teresa Stokes, who is truly multi-talented. Apart from Teresa’s activity as a Wingwalker she also possesses a pilot license and is very well known across the globe as one of the worlds leading aviation artists. And as if all of this was not enough, she also collects old antique cars. Teresa and Gene are surly the most fascinating pairs in this business. And don’t forget there is always the Showcat!

One must be either crazy or his name is Gene Soucy as Gene has converted an old agricultural aircraft in to an aerobatics machine. The old Grumman AG Cat was modified by Gene who flies this durable machine at the many of the Airshows he attends. A second cockpit was integrated and a device for Wingwalking was also installed. Their show is divided into three parts, a solo display incorporating lots of smoke, a Wingwalking performance with Teresa Stokes and a "Fire flight" night show made even more spectacular through the use of a huge quantity of pyrotechnics. The machine that is now known as the "Showcat" was developed in 1958 by the Grumman Ironworks and is a rugged, reliable if a little oversized, aeroplane, in other words a fairly typical example from the Grumman Corporation! Gene Soucy’s choice of using the Showcat for his performance certainly paid off, as everyone who saw his display(s) will agree!

A very special aerobatics team is the SKYTYPERS. With their computer -generated smoke system they will write just about anything in the sky asked of them, like the American flag for example, advertising or also just a simple "Welcome". The SKYTYPERS consists of six North American SNJ-2 aircraft, the Navy version of the famous T-6 Texan trainer. The SNJ’s are flown by former Air Force and Navy pilots, and/or active airline pilots at numerous air shows and events across the USA, Canada and Mexico. If you want to learn more about this interesting team, simply visit their Website: www.skytypers.com.
Lastly, but at the NAS Oceana Airshow always at the beginning of the show was a demonstration by four North American T-28 Trojans. All privately owned they usually fly in a fairly loose formation, however after some Flybys, in the four ship formation, they form into two pairs for their final break. The T-28 replaced the T-6 Texan as the advanced trainer in U.S. Air Force service, making its first flight on 26th Sept 1949. Scarcely over 2,200 of these durable machines were built and used with the U.S. Air Force, Navy and the Marine Corps with the only export customer being France . The Trojan was also used by the French in Algeria and also by the U.S. in Viet Nam. Other deployments also included the Congo - however not officially!

The NAS Oceana Airshow 2004 was again hugely spectacular. High class Navy and Air Force jets, the mandatory Shockwave Truck together with a clever mix of both civilian highlights and military demonstrations by the organisers all added to make this show an outstanding success. Here each display was very different – very different compared with many demonstrations in Europe. The Americans not only invented the term “show”, but it was wonderful to see that they also obviously practice it! And if you don’t believe it - the next NAS Oceana Airshow takes place from 16th to 18th of September 2005!

Robert Kysela, managing editor