Get to know the civilian performers ahead of the Blue Angels air show
Whether you’ve intentionally been to an air show or you were minding your own business when an impromptu flyover crashed a friend’s downtown wedding, if you’ve lived in Pensacola for any amount of time, you’ve inevitably born witness to the Blue Angels.
This weekend, the team and eight civilian acts will take the skies above the Gulf of Mexico for the annual Pensacola Beach Air Show.
By now, you probably know a good bit about the Blue Angels. If you don’t, click here and read all the juicy bits of trivia you could want. But what about the rest of the talented, physics-defying acts you’ll see this weekend?
Here’s a look at which civilian acts you’ll get a chance to see at the Blue Angels’ Pensacola Beach Air Show.
Skip Stewart
There’s an adage that one must dedicate 10,000 hours to master something. As arbitrary as that number may seem, Skip Stewart has logged more than 10,000 flying hours over the course of his career. His accomplishments include winning the 2013 Bill Barber Award for Showmanship and the 2015 Art School Award, and he’s considered one of the most entertaining air show pilots in the world.
Stewart performs in a machine that started as a Pitts S-2S and has evolved into a unique creation concocted in the mind of Stewart. The biplane is named Prometheus, and it looks like an old American hot rod that sprouted wings and now flies. It has a climb rate of 4,000 feet per minute, it can clock 300 mph, has a stall speed of 58 mph and can fly just over 400 miles. You can read more about Stewart and Prometheus on his website.
Redline
Redline is a two-man formation aerobatic performance team that flies in the experimental Van’s Aircraft RV-8. The team flies in day and night performances, though you’ll only get a chance to see the day performance at the Pensacola Beach Air Show.
The team’s pilots are Ken Rieder, flight lead, and his son Austin Rieder, wing pilot. Ken, a former corporate and airline pilot, has been flying for more than 35 years and has more than 13,000 flying hours logged. It’s always fitting to see Ken performing with the Blue Angels since they were his inspiration for becoming a pilot.
Austin performed his first solo in a glider when he was 14 years old and in a powered aircraft when he was 16. He’s spent more than half of his flying time with his dad.
Together, they fly in the Van’s RV-8, which is a two-seat, tandem plane. They are capable of flying up to 230 mph and have a stall speed of 55 mph.
Read more about the Redline team on its website.
Carol Pilon and Third Strike Wingwalking
Carol Pilon and Third Strike Wingwalking will bring a unique and harrowing experience to the Pensacola Beach Air Show. Pilon has been a professional wingwalker since 2000 and has a number of impressive accomplishments, such as being the first and only woman to walk on a jet-propelled aircraft, the first and only Canadian wing walker and more. The rest of her team includes wing walkers Joseph Bender and Kelly Garvin and pilots Stefan Trischuk and Melissa Burns. Wing walking itself originated in the 1920s as a daredevil act. It consists of moving about the wings of a plane, usually a biplane, during flight. Several early wing walkers died, but modern wing walkers usually attach themselves to the center section of the upper wing for safety.
This will be Pilon and Third Strike Wingwalking’s first appearance at the Pensacola Beach Air Show.
You can read more about Pilon and Third Strike Wingwalking on her website.
Veterans Flight
The Veterans Flight is a Pensacola Beach Air Show special that features a number of veterans flying vintage aircraft in formation over Pensacola Beach. Since 2014, Veterans Flight pilots have volunteered their vintage planes and their skills for the annual event, taking veterans up one at a time for an almost hour-long trip over the shoreline. This year, the team hopes to have 10 Stearmans, 4 T-6/SNJs and a T-34A taking the veterans over Pensacola Beach.
Read more about Veterans Flight and its mission on its website.
Julian MacQueen
Julian MacQueen is a name you wouldn’t expect to see at any air show. After all, he founded Innisfree Hotels in 1985 and continues to run the company as chairman and CEO. But he’s also been a part of the Pensacola Beach Air Show for about two decades. This year, he’ll be piloting his vintage 1943 Grumman Widgeon seaplane.
Kevin Coleman
Kevin Coleman will perform alongside the Red Bull Air Force Team and Aaron Fitzgerald. According to the Red Bull website, Coleman began training under legendary barnstormer Marion Cole when he was 10. He performed his first solo flight at 16 years old. He fine-tuned his craft under Kirby Chambliss and joined the Red Bull Air Race team in 2016 as one of the youngest pilots in the sport.
Read more about Kevin Coleman on the Red Bull website.
Red Bull Air Force Team with pilot Aaron Fitzgerald
The Red Bull Air Force Team have one mission: To push the limits of flight. The team consists of Jon Devore, Miles Daisher, Luke Aikins, Amy Chmelecki, Andy Farrington, Jeff Provenzano, Sean MacCormac and Mike Swanson — all experts who have collectively completed tens of thousands of successful jumps. They are the most accomplished and experienced aviation squad around. Pilot Aaron Fitzgerald will fly with the team as it performs various skydiving maneuvers.
Read more about the Red Bull Air Force Team on its website.
Patty Wagstaff
Last but certainly not least is Patty Wagstaff, the first woman to win the title of U.S. National Aerobatic champion and a six-time member of the U.S. Aerobatic Team. Wagstaff grew up around planes, first taking the controls of her father’s DC-6 when she was 10 years old.
She’s earned her Commercial, Instrument, Seaplane and Commercial Helicopter Ratings. She is a flight and instrument instructor and is rated and qualified to fly many airplanes, from World War II fighters to jets. Wagstaff’s sister, Toni, is also a pilot for United Airlines.
Read more about Patty Wagstaff on her website.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Beach Air Show: Get to know the civilian performers
