Baraboo 2010
For the fifth year in a row, top-flight airshow performers flew to the Baraboo-Wisconsin Dells Municipal Airport (KDLL) for the annual airshow. After five years I think it is safe to say the June airshow has established itself on the aviation event calendar. However, airshow organizer Paul Rogers of Air Shows of Wisconsin says spectator turnout was below expectations, and he is not sure how to improve it. Even with a low turnout, there was still a very decent crowd at all three shows (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday).
The weather forecast may have had an influence. As late as Friday the predictions were for scattered showers for all three days. Luckily the rain was elsewhere almost all weekend. On Friday evening some high clouds moved in just before the evening show but didn’t interfere with the performances at all; there was some overnight rain, but it started well after the show was over. Saturday was absolutely beautiful airshow weather. Sunday brought some more clouds with occasional periods of low ceilings, but nothing that caused any problems for the performers.
Baraboo is a small show, so you don’t expect acts like the Thunderbirds or Blue Angels, and neither team was there. Nevertheless, the show had an outstanding lineup of performers, static displays, and other attractions. The Air Force Viper East f-16 Demonstration team was probably the headline act for many people. The civilian acts were a combination of aerobatics, formation, and some cool aircraft doing fly-bys.
The aerobatics were very good. Daryl Massman flew great performances in his Panzl 330. Bob Davis showed why the Sukhoi Su-29 was the dominant plane in international competition for many years. Bob also debuted his new night performance with much brighter lights for the smoke trail and really nice LED bars on the fuselage and wing tips. Larry Schlasinger does things with his YAK-52 that I have never seen anyone else do, including the tumbling Lomchevik and a low-altitude, low-speed, high-alpha, hanging on the prop pass right down the runway. Mike Love also flies a nice routine with his very colorful Yak-52. Mike’s getting very involved with airshow this year; in fact he missed Friday’s evening show because he was flying in a small show in Northern Wisconsin. Larry and Mike also fly a fun simulated dogfight routine, but the ceilings at Baraboo prevented them from flying it this year. The American Champion Super Decathlon is an aerobatic training airplane, but Bill Blank’s performance demonstrates that it can really do some pretty impressive stuff, including a half-roll on take-off. In addition to the single-ship aerobatic performers, the Screaming Rebels formation team flew on all three days. They are a four-ship team flying the T-6 Texan. Their planes were also on static display.
In addition to the aerobatics, there were a couple of other planes that flew in the show. Perhaps the most interesting was Eric and Tina Downing’s EA-1E (AD-5) Skyraider. This plane is a variant on the single-seat AD-1 Skyraider, but with side-by-side seating for the pilot and co-pilot and a large crew-compartment behind. It is extremely rare, with only a few hundred made, and only four flying. Eric’s plane had been used in the electronic-warfare role, with two crew members and a large amount of electronic equipment in the rear compartment. The Navy converted it to its current configuration as a Carrier Onboard Delivery aircraft with four passenger seats. It was often used to ferry high-ranking officers out to the carrier. In addition to flying in the show, the plane was on static display for the crowds to look at up close.
The other two demonstration flights were Paul Wood and his F-86 Sabre and the Army aviation Heritage Foundation’s huey helicopter. The Huey was trucked over 900 miles from Georgia on a specially built trailer. In addition to flying in the show, the Huey also gave rides all weekend.
The show was scheduled to have the Army Silver Eagles parachute team, but they were unable to attend. Instead, the Seven Hills Skydivers from nearby Madison stepped in to fill the void.
Hopefully in future years the Baraboo-Dells Airshow will be able to attract the attendance it certainly deserves. I know it is a fixture on my summer calendar!
