'Angel' flies in to plan for air show

Despite heavy snow flurries and the potential for subzero temperatures, one of the U.S. Navy's F/A-18 Blue Angel jets arrived at Glacier Park International Airport on Wednesday,

Lt. Shaun Swartz and co-pilot Lt. John Allison flew in to meet with local officials regarding this summer's Mountain Madness Air Show. The event, which is being sponsored by the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, is scheduled to take place on July 30-31.

The purpose of the meeting was to bring together everyone who's going to be managing the show and making sure they all understand who's in charge of what, said Carol Edgar - who's in charge of publicity.

"This was basically the 'OK, let's get going' meeting," Edgar said. "After this, people will hit the ground running. We have a lot to do before July."

The Blue Angels performance flying team is the highlight of Mountain Madness '05. It will be joined by a wide variety of demonstrations, acts and airplane displays, including the popular F-15 Eagle demonstration team, Franklin's Flying Circus and the Super Shockwave Jet Truck.

Tickets for the event go on sale in February, Edgar said. Prices haven't been set yet - in part because insurance prices have increased sharply since 9/11 - but one-day and two-day ticket options will be available. Tickets will be available at a number of outlets, including the chamber's Web site, www.kalispellchamber.com

Something in the neighborhood of 500 volunteers will be needed to put on the show, she said. People can contact the chamber if they're interested. The chamber also wants to hear from local community, nonprofit and school groups, who typically handle all the concessions for the event.

"It's going to be fabulous," Edgar said. "At the last show [in 1999], we had a total attendance of about 34,000. This time, we think we can handle 40,000 to 50,000."