Van Nuys Air Show Is Ready for Takeoff

When spectators watch pilot Sean D. Tucker’s routine at the Van Nuys Airport Aviation Expo today, they won’t be able to see what all those plunging twists and turns are doing to the man in the cockpit.

Tucker admits his body takes a beating with every air show.

“It feels like your head is exploding with blood,” Tucker said. “It feels like there is a big piece of concrete on your stomach.”

Nonetheless, Tucker loves his job as one of the top aerobatic pilots in the nation. His annual performance at the Van Nuys show is special to him because he took his first flying lesson there as a teenager.

A regular on the air show circuit since 1974, the Eagle Rock High School graduate agrees his career choice may appear to be crazy. But he believes it was the right decision for him.

“Everybody has to walk a path,” Tucker said. “When you have a job that’s this dangerous, you better do it for you.”

About 300,000 spectators are expected to attend the free event, which continues Sunday. One of the highlights on today’s schedule is the noon flyover by the B-2 Stealth bomber. Tucker is scheduled to fly at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Crowds were lined up along the fence bordering the airport Friday to view the arrival of military jets that will be on display this weekend. That is the best part of the whole weekend to Nick Scarpelli, 49, of Van Nuys.

“On Friday, when the military jets come in, that’s the real air show,” Scarpelli said, explaining that it’s much more fun to watch the planes fly over than to see them on the ground. “It’s part of the show--but not formally part of the show.”

Jerry Mendelsohn, 47, of Studio City, agreed, saying the Friday jet arrival should be made a formal part of the show.

“They could put up bleachers. They’d have an opportunity to have hundreds of thousands of people out here,” Mendelsohn said. “It’s a way to promote the military. This is how the military recruits its future pilots.”

Rick Ernst, 42, of Van Nuys, said he enjoys the Monday takeoffs even more but never misses either event. He has been an aviation fan all his life.

“When I was in high school, I wanted to be a jet pilot but couldn’t because of my eyesight,” Ernst said.

Though the military planes will be on the ground for the weekend, stunt pilots like Tucker will get quite a bit of air time with both morning and afternoon performances. Among the headline performers is Patty Wagstaff, the first woman to win the U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Championship.

Others include Dave Benson, an Australian who holds a Guinness world record for skydiving with flags as large as 13,000 square feet, and Dan Buchanan, a paraplegic hang glider.

This year’s theme, “Then, Now and Beyond,” commemorates the evolution of flight into the 21st century. The expo is honoring NASA astronaut Marsha Ivins, who has logged more than 1,000 hours in space on four shuttle missions, and Bob Hoover, a longtime aerobatics pilot.

The air show also serves as a fund-raiser for several local nonprofit groups that set up concession stands.

A book drive was added this year, sponsored by the Los Angeles Times and the Van Nuys Rotary Club. For every new or used book brought to the expo, Scholastic Books will donate a new one for kindergarten through third grade students in Van Nuys schools.

The Special Olympics of Southern California will sponsor the “Plane Pull,” in which teams of 20 people try to pull a Boeing 727 a distance of 20 feet in the shortest period of time.

The pedestrian entrance to the air show is at 8030 Balboa Blvd. Free parking and shuttle bus service is available from four remote parking lots. Parking for the disabled is available on-site at 8050 Balboa Blvd.

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Van Nuys Air Show

The Van Nuys Airport Aviation Expo 2000 will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Organizers expect more than 300,000 spectators at the free show. The pedestrian entrance is at 8030 Balboa Blvd.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Schedule is subject to change. Each demonstration runs 10-15 minutes, except the 2 p.m. Golden Knights performance, which runs 30 minutes.

Saturday, June 24

10 a.m.: Flyover by Condor Squadron AT-6 Texans International skydiver Dave Benson with 5,000-square-foot U.S. flag, recognition awards to NASA astronaut Marsha S. Ivins, veteran pilot Robert Hoover

10:30 a.m.: Dave Eastman in the Pitts S2S “Patriot,” U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team Clay Lacy in the Pilatus Turbo Porter Tim Weber in the EXTRA 300 LAFD Helicopter Team Sean D. Tucker in the Challenger II.

11:45 a.m.: “Plane Pull” fund-raiser, sponsored by the Southern California Special Olympics

12:15 p.m.: B-2 Stealth bomber flyover

2 p.m.: Dave Benson skydiving display Patty Wagstaff in the EXTRA 300S Dan Buchanan in the Airwave Glider Sean D. Tucker in the Challenger II U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team Aerobatic Flying Circus

*

Sunday, June 25

10 a.m.: Flyover by Condor Squadron AT-6 Texans International skydiver Dave Benson with 5,000-square-foot U.S. flag, Aerial demonstrations

10:30 p.m.: Dave Eastman in the Pitts S25 “Patriot,” U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team, Clay Lacy in the Pilatus Turbo Porter, Tim Weber in the EXTRA 300, LAFD Helicopter Team, Sean D. Tucker in the Challenger II

2 p.m.: Dave Benson skydiving display, Patty Wagstaff in the EXTRA 300S, Dan Buchanan in the Airwave Glider, Sean D. Tucker in the Challenger II, U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team, Aerobatic Flying Circus

*

Sources: Van Nuys Airport, Boeing, “Jane’s Aircraft Recognition Guide”