Air-show tickets flying out the door
If advance ticket sales are an indication, this year's Mountain Madness Air Show will be the biggest Flathead Valley event since the last air show was held six years ago.
"Everything's going frighteningly well," said an enthusiastic Joe Unterreiner, director of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce. "We're running way ahead of 1999."
As many as 50,000 people are expected for the air show. The '99 show attracted 35,000 spectators.
Typically, about three-quarters of the ticket sales are made during the week before the event, but this time an early bird incentive is working well, Unterreiner said.
Before July 22, one-day ticket prices are $15 for adults or $5 for children ages 12 and younger; children ages 3 and younger get in for free. Two-day tickets cost $25 and $10, respectively.
After July 22, the one-day price increases by $5 while the two-day tickets increase $10 and $5. Tickets are available at the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce office or online at www.kalispellchamber.com.
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels are the highlight of the two-day show planned July 30 and 31 at Glacier Park International Airport. But the elite squad is by no means the only entertainment. A number of demonstrations and acts will keep the crowd enthralled, Unterreiner said.
The show begins at about 11:30 a.m. each day and continues past 3 p.m.
Skydivers from Skydive Lost Prairie in Marion will parachute in with an American flag as an opening act.
The Pietsch Brothers' aerobatic comedy act is a highlight, and the F-15 Eagle and T-6A Texan II demonstration teams are other scheduled acts.
On the ground, the Super Shockwave jet truck is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. It's a 1957 Chevy with two jet engines that can propel the truck from 0 to 350 mph in a half-mile.
Show organizers are making plans to find a replacement for the Franklin AirShow wing-walker act. Jimmy Franklin, an aerobatic pilot for more than 30 years, was killed this past weekend during a Canadian air show in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, when two small biplanes simulating a World War I dogfight collided, killing both pilots.
An extensive static display of aircraft will round out the Flathead Valley show.
Repeat air-show spectators will find better traffic and parking conditions this time, Unterreiner promised.
"We're making a special effort to improve traffic," he said.
Show organizers hired a traffic-control services company to provide signs and flaggers to move the high volume of vehicles in and out of the parking lots as quickly as possible.
A limited number of prepaid parking passes are available for $10 each, and 24,000 free spaces will be available south of the airport. It's field parking with no shuttle service. Handicapped parking will be available in the National Car Rental return area south of the terminal.
The Blue Angels, performers and pilots of many of the static displays will attend a preflight party from 5 to 9 p.m. July 29 in Kalispell's Depot Park. The free event is sponsored by the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce.
During the air show, pilots and performers will be available at an autograph tent on the crowd line.
Rainy weather won't deter the show. The Blue Angels and other performers have shows to accommodate high and low cloud cover.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com