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  • Air Shows Declining...

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    End of air show reflects U.S. trend toward fewer such events
    ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
    02/04/2008

    St. Louis' storied aviation community has lost another big bash.

    When the St. Louis County Fair and Air Show called it quits last week, it marked the second local festival of flight to be grounded in the past couple years. Organizers of Fair St. Louis pulled the plug on air shows before the summer 2006 celebration.

    But in a region whose aviation bona fides include famed transatlantic pilot Charles Lindbergh, aircraft builder McDonnell Douglas and — most recently — the Ansari X Prize, the loss of another high-profile air show means one less chance to put that lofty legacy on display.

    "It's a sad thing as far as I'm concerned," said Carl "Chub" Wheeler of Warrenton, a retired executive pilot who sits on the board of the Greater St. Louis Air and Space Museum in Cahokia. "I know people really turned out to them by the thousands."

    Former Spirit of St. Louis Airport director Richard Hrabko, president emeritus of the St. Louis County show, said the Labor Day weekend event had lost prime parking space to business development on and around the Chesterfield airport. Rules designed to protect people on the ground forced organizers to ask some airport neighbors to leave their homes or businesses during some performances, and that was an inconvenience, he said.

    Hrabko, now director of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, added that very few air shows go on forever.

    The St. Louis County air show, which began in 1992, was recognized as one of the premier events in the country, Hrabko said last week. "We had tons of kids, and families would come and say this is truly a great family event."

    It drew more than 100,000 each Labor Day Weekend and raised $2 million during its run for the Children's Miracle Network of Greater St. Louis.

    "It was time to go out a winner," Hrabko said.

    Nationally, there are roughly 340 air shows — about 10 percent fewer than a decade earlier, according to John Cudahy, president of the International Council of Air Shows Inc.

    "In a way, air shows are seeing the same kinds of consolidations the rest of the event world is seeing," Cudahy said.

    Collectively, air shows attract about 12 million people a year, he said. Many of them are young families looking for safe, affordable entertainment with educational value.

    Some Fair St. Louis regulars grumbled when the downtown St. Louis air show flew away.

    Missy Slay, executive director of Celebrate St. Louis, said organizers of the downtown event shifted formats in 2006 to feature a summer-long music festival. Fair St. Louis hours were scaled back and the air shows were eliminated as a result.

    "I think what you find is that St. Louisans don't like change at first," Slay said. "But once they realized what our event was blossoming into, we had tremendous feedback on the diverse entertainment we are offering."

    Losing another local air show means one less opportunity to hook people on aviation — particularly young people, according to local aviation leaders.

    "I think there's a tremendous amount lost," said Bob McDaniel, director of the St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia. "I got my start in aviation as I was sitting in my sandbox as a little kid watching airplanes fly overhead. The opportunities for kids to be exposed to aviation (today) are not near what they used to be."

    Jean Murry of St. Louis County, said one of the goals of the Greater St. Louis Air and Space Museum is to get younger people interested in the rich history of aviation in the St. Louis area — which featured the likes of Lindbergh, McDonnell Douglas (which was acquired by Boeing Co. in 1997) and Trans World Airlines (whose assets were bought by American Airlines in 2001).

    "Oh my goodness, pretty soon it will be to the point where young people will hardly know what an airplane looks like," Murry said.

    Jack Jackson, retired chief test pilot for Boeing Co., flew the St. Louis-built Harrier at the Fair St. Louis and St. Louis County shows, and said airplanes "hold a mystique to a lot of people." He recalled how people would flock to the fence as he would taxi past at Spirit.

    "I understand why air shows come and go, and why they change," Jackson said. "It is a lot of work. And there is a lot of risk."

    Local air show aficionados still will be able to get their fix this year at Scott Air Force Base, which is hosting a show in September. It will feature the popular Air Force Thunderbirds.

    "It promises to be a great show and a wonderful opportunity for the American public to witness the best and brightest of their U.S. armed forces, both past and present," said Col. Al Hunt, commander of the 375th Airlift Wing at Scott.
    Les règles de l'aviation de base découragent de longues périodes de dur tirer vers le haut.
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