The long winter stretch with little or no airshow activity is almost over! Soon the roar of jet engines and the sound of spinning props will ripple through the air, letting airshow fans know that the flying season is upon us!
A few airshows have already occurred this year – AIR FIESTA 2016 occurred in Brownsville, TX on Feb 13th and 14th and a few airshows were held in California in January. The Singapore Airshow was also held in February!
But while the off season may be slightly depressing for airshow fans, it gives performers time to regroup and inspect their aircraft. During the winter, airshow pilots typically take them apart and look over every inch. Kyle Franklin did just that this year and posted this picture on his Facebook page. During the inspections, Kyle found a cracked exhaust flange on his high performance biplane known as “Dracula”. Kyle says the problem is fairly common with his exhaust and they have made adjustments so that it doesn’t crack as much.
Kyle Franklin recently posted a video on his Facebook page showing him starting up Dracula for the first time in 2016.
Many other pilots spend the winter season training for the upcoming season. Michael Goulian and Kevin Coleman will be participating in the Red Bull Air Race this year. Kevin will be competing in the Challenger Cup.
The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds have also been preparing for the season. The Blues “crested” many members of the 2016 team today at El Centro. The team has been flying practice flights at El Centro to get ready for the season. The Thunderbirds will fly their Creech AFB Appreciation Show on Tuesday, March 8th to thank the airmen of Creech for their support during the season. The Thunderbirds use Creech as a training airport.
The off season also gives us and many other aviation photographers a chance to catch up on photo editing, clean the camera, and just maybe get some new equipment! We’re ready for the season to start and excited to bring you coverage of this year’s airshow season. Stay here through the season for the latest in airshow news, photos, and videos!
In 2014, we did a RideAlong! onboard cockpit video with Kyle at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Check out the video below!
Charlie Hansen
I’m getting very excited for this. I’ve been waiting for 2 months for this. Air Shows here I come.