Tickets on sale for air show
Planning for this summer's Mountain Madness Air Show is about to kick into high gear, with 27 subcommittees and hundreds of volunteers getting into the act.
The show, which features the U.S. Navy Blue Angels performance flying team, is being organized by the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce.
The show will be at Glacier Park International Airport on July 30-31.
Tickets for the two-day event went on sale Tuesday at the chamber office, 15 Depot Park. Beginning June 1, they also will be on sale at Glacier Bank branches and at Sportsman & Ski Haus in Kalispell and Whitefish.
Tickets also may be purchased online at www.kalispellchamber.com
Through July 22, one-day ticket prices are $15 for adults or $5 for children ages 12 and under; children 3 and under get in for free. Two-day tickets cost $25 and $10, respectively.
After July 22, the one-day prices increase by $5; two-day tickets increase $10 and $5, respectively.
In addition to the Blue Angels, Chamber President Joe Unterreiner said, a number of aerial demonstrations and entertainment acts have been lined up for this year's airshow.
"We have the Super Shockwave Jet Truck - it's a '57 Chevy with two jet engines that goes from 0 to 350 mph in a half-mile," he said. "We also have the F-15 Eagle [fighter jet] demonstration confirmed, and we're trying for the Harrier."
The Harrier is a fighter jet used by the U.S. Marines that can take off or land vertically.
Other likely acts, Unterreiner said, include the Pietsch Brothers' aerobatic comedy act, KD Stunt Productions, and Franklin's Flying Circus wing-walker show. The opening act features Skydive Lost Prairie, out of Marion, which will parachute in with the American flag.
There will also be an extensive "static display" of airplanes on the ground.
The display could include the F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighter jet, B-1B Lancer jet bomber, the AH-1 Cobra helicopter gunship and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, the C-5 Galaxy cargo plane, F-16 Falcon jet fighter and A-10 Warthog tank-killer, as well as several vintage World War II warbirds.
To keep track of everything, Unterreiner said, 27 air-show subcommittees have been formed.
For example, there will be a liaison specifically to handle the space, fuel and ancillary needs of the Blue Angles; a liaison for the various flying acts; a static display coordinator; and someone to coordinate with the Federal Aviation Administration.
"When you do an air show like ours, you end up breaking 50 to 100 FAA rules," Unterreiner said. "Most of what the Blue Angels and aerial performers are doing technically isn't permitted, so we need a waiver for each one of those rules."
Other subcommittees will address issues such as marketing and ticket sales, concessions, parking and traffic control, communications and medical services.
"We'll have a whole mini-clinic set up out at the airport during the show, and the Alert helicopter will be stationed there," Unterreiner said.
All of the food concessions for the air show will be staffed by local community groups in return for a portion of the profits, he said. There are still volunteer opportunities available for any groups who'd like to participate in that program. They can contact the chamber at 758-2800.
"During the last air show [in '99], several groups raised more than $2,000," Unterreiner said. "There were about 40 different groups involved and the total payout was over $30,000."
Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at bspence@dailyinterlake.com