Gary Rower Enchants the Crowd at Ft. Drum Air Show
So, here I am at the Ft. Drum Air Show. Other than being at Oshkosh several times, this is the first air show I have literally seen from start to finish. I run air shows and you can’t run an air show and watch an air show at the same time, well, you can’t if you want to have an air show run smoothly and safely. I was thrilled that a friend called to see if I wanted to go and really enthused to be able to sit back and enjoy the sound of the engines, the speed and excitement of the jets, seeing some old friends, did I mention the sound and speed of those jets? They had both the F16 and F18 demo teams there. The F18’s maneuverability just amazes me. A Viper, you hadn’t better blink when he goes by or you will miss him.
My friends, the Iron Eagles and their announcer Al Loncto, who has announced all our shows, were going to be there. They are said to be a mirror image if each other as they perform and that is a perfect description. Finally got to meet Hugh Oldham, the announcer. I have been e-mailing him on and off for years…..we are both a part of Wayne’s Gang, a group of air show performers, directors, announcers, photographers, publishers and just aviation enthusiasts from around the country, who continually correspond and solve all the world’s aviation problems and any other problems that come up, daily. Oh, and Wayne had told me to watch for Gary Rower and his 1942 PT-17 Stearman, who were going to be flying at Fort Drum. OK.. I can do that, the Stearman is a great WWII trainer plane and I am partial to War birds, so probably will be my pleasure to watch him fly.
I have my press pass( well it was legit, I am writing this and another article) and I can get up close and watch Gary and catch up with Al and see what Billy Segalla and Bill Gordon have been up to, which is always something exciting and catch a few shots of Gary and his Stearman.
I am thoroughly enjoying catching up with Al when I hear the Stearman’s engine start up, you definitely can’t miss that sound. The original 220 horse power engine was replaced with a nine cylinder, nearly 1000 cubic inch, 450 horse power Pratt and Whitney Wasp Junior engine when it was completely reconstructed in 1973. It was also refitted with a nine foot prop that is nearly supersonic throughout his air show performance. In 2001 the Stearman was completely disassembled and rebuilt before Gary started performing in it in 2002.
Gary had taxied out to the runway and was waiting for his signal to take off. I am looking at this Stearman thinking “cool colors”, it is red and white on a perfectly blue sky as background. Before he taxied out, I had seen him going through his preflight paces and had seen a few others do this literally, in their mind, go through their whole performance; arms out and walking through their entire performance. I go back to my conversation and I hear the engine revving up and as he took off, it passed through my mind again Really cool colors. I wonder if it was intentional red and white on that crisp blue background.” I really didn’t know beans about him, but you can tell a lot about a person and their thought process, by the way they handle detail and I had already watched him go through his preflight paces, totally focused. I am intrigued now and looking for him to come back around and show the crowd what he can do with that Stearman.
I know when I am watching someone perform that “has it”……..I am no longer chatting, probably rudely stopped mid-sentence, I can’t take my eyes off that Stearman and I found myself moving closer to catch the nuances of his flying. I am spellbound, this guy has the ability to make that big old Stearman looks like Oscar Bosch in his sleek glider, we are talking watching a ballet in the sky……………there is only one other person that I know that can make a Stearman look like the most graceful thing you have ever seen. I found myself going with him, literally in my mind. You could almost feel the graceful touch Gary had on the stick of that Stearman…….he definitely is one with the plane and you can see that grace come through in every movement the Stearman makes; …….smooth…….graceful……you definitely know you are watching something extraordinary. His performance is filled with giant barnstormer loops, hammerhead turns, slow rolls, a Cuban eight, inverted flight and, according to him, one of his favorite maneuvers, the Outside Humpty Bump. Amazingly enough, Gary has almost brought you with him as he glides through his incredibly graceful, but strong, performance.
Wayne had introduced us via e-mail and after Gary landed and “came down” a bit, he came over and introduced himself. I immediately sensed his unassuming confidence. He is a gentle man and obviously comfortable with himself as a pilot and a person. We went over to look at his plane and get some shots. He introduced me to his wife and son, who flew up to Ft. Drum from Georgia in the Stearman with him. It is very evident that Gary’s values and standards are high and having his family with him, was equally as important to his performance as his preflight. He certainly is impressive as a performer and a person. I asked him if he could send me a bio, so I could have a little background on him and how he started flying.
Like so many of the best pilots out there, he started young, probably because he just had to do it. He started in an apple orchard in upstate New York at age 16. He graduated from the US Air Force Academy and while there became a soaring instructor and Captain of the USAF Academy Soaring Team that competed in the SGS 1-26 National Championships. From the Academy, Gary went on to pilot training at Vance AF Base and was a Distinguished Graduate. He was immediately assigned to the Air Force’s newest fighter, the F-16 Fighting Falcon. These were the early days of the F-16 and Gary was the 136th USAF pilot worldwide to achieve 1000 hours in the aircraft. During that time he became an instructor, flight evaluator and was awarded Top Gun. While in Spain, Gary trained with NASA as part of the Space Shuttle contingency team for the diversion on liftoff. In 1986 Gary left active duty and joined a major airline which he has been flying for 20+ years. During the 80’s he continued to fly the F16 with the Air Force Reserve. He currently is rated in the Boeing 767,757,737 and DC-9 and flies to Europe, Africa and South America……..
The Ft. Drum Air Show was like a gift that someone tries to fool you with: a big box and inside, another box with the surprise gift in it, Gary Rower was my surprise gift. I hope everyone of you has the opportunity to see this man fly the Red and White on Blue …..It is an incredible experience that you will definitely want to do it ßagain.
Joyce Oster Palmer, New Hartford, NY 6/08
(tune in next month for part 2)