Golden West Fly-In Brings Aviation Home - By Clark Cook, Editor

Marysville, CA - Approximately 6,000 aviation enthusiasts and 600 aircraft took part in the annual Golden West Regional Fly-In & Air Show at Yuba County Airport located north of Sacramento. The three day event kicked off on Friday, June 12 and ran through Sunday with a pancake breakfast, workshops, seminars, an appearance by Chuck Yeager and an air show. Although Friday was a dress rehearsal for Saturday and Sunday's air show, aviation enthusiasts were able to see performances by performers from Northern California and a team from Canada.

Several exhibitors were also in attendance. Van’s Aircraft, Lancair International, Glasair and Velocity Aircraft were some of the kit aircraft manufacturers in attendance along with 80 other exhibitors. Aircraft Judging Awards, sponsored by EAA, were presented at a dinner Saturday evening with Neal Longwill, the new General Manager of Lancair being the guest speaker. Neal spoke about the company’s newest addition, the Evolution that is now available with a piston or a turbine engine.
The flying commenced with fly-by's of aircraft showcased on static display. One of the aircraft was a unique flying car dubbed "Aerocar." Designed by Moulton Taylor, the Aerocar has wings that fold up, allowing the car to be easily converted into flight mode by a single person in just five minutes. Other aircraft showcased included homebuilts, ultralights and a homebuilt turbine powered helicopter.

The official air show opened with the Liberty Jump Team carrying the American Flag during the National Anthem. On the second pass Rex Pemberton exited the aircraft flying high above show center in his wing suit. Rex's lovely newlywed wife, Melissa circled him in her Edge 540 as he continued his descent, then deployed his parachute. As he floated to the ground and touched down, Melissa made a high speed knife edge pass over the runway behind him, marking the beginning of her act. Formally Melissa Andrzejewski, she is the youngest female performer in the air show circuit. Her aerobatic performance awed the spectators.

Tim Decker, a recently retired Air Force Pilot thrilled the crowd with his high energy aerobatic routine. Flying the last stock Pitts S-2B in production, Tim performed a series of maneuvers that had the crowd at a standstill. Logging over 5000 hours in both military and civil aircraft, Tim gained most of his flying experience in the U-2, F-117, T-38, RV-4, and the Pitts S-2B.

Canada's Northern Aeros flown by Kevin Hopkins and Jerzy Strzyz performed an act with Sukhois SU-26 & SU-29. This is the only 2 ship aerobatic team to fly these unique aircraft. Each performer flew a solo act, then collaborated into an exciting 2 ship performance. Six lucky volunteers had the best seat in the house for the Sukhoi SU-26 inverted ribbon cut. Holding 2 poles supporting a ribbon, the aircraft flawlessly cut the ribbon while inverted!

A mock air race was performed by half a dozen sport class racers that regularly compete in the National Championship Air Races in Reno each year. Although there weren't any pylons, the drama was real as the aircraft flew a racetrack pattern over the runway and west of the airport.

Other performances included several high speed fly-by's by Greg Colyer in his T-33 and Eddie Andreini performing a series of maneuvers in his Yak-9U. Wingtip smoke generators created an amazing effect as Eddie flew past at high speeds. If one Yak wasn't enough, then how about two? Kent Carlomagno brought in his Yak-11 for static display. The two aircraft look similar with the exception of Eddie's aircraft having a 12 cylinder inline engine, while Kent's aircraft has a radial engine and slight airframe differences. The two aircraft took off in formation, then made a few passes over the runway, making for some photographic opportunities.

The event concluded with the departure of most of the aircraft that participated, including a Vietnam era 0-2 Skymaster an an Hu-16 Albatross seaplane. The 2010 Golden West Regional Fly-in & Air Show will be held June 11-13 with the theme “Higher, Ever Higher.”