The Greenwood Lake Airshow scheduled for September 26, & 27 started off with a bang. On Saturday 9/26 the IAC 52 tent and exhibit went up early with the help of Steve Seidel, Jay Tesauro, Scott Kirk, Alex Belov, Scott Jordan, Hans Bok, and John Fellenzer.
On display were Jay’s Super Decathlon, Scott Kirk’s Extra 300L, Hans’ Sukhoi 29, Scott Jordan’s RV-8, and Steve’s “borrowed” Pitts S2A. We had the best of all worlds on display.
There was a great turnout and the crowd literally swarmed the IAC display and tent. The 52's dispersed IAC literature, (thanks Mark Mattioli), nice flying balsa bi-wing airplanes, (thanks Aaron Ham), for the kids and collected fresh fingerprints on the display aircraft. The balsa planes were a big hit and were wiped out fairly quickly once the word got out and the cub scouts arrived. John’s daughter, Kelly Fellenzer was our premier test pilot and was lucky to leave with her own balsa aircraft intact.
The airshow featured two of our own; "Acronut", Kendal Simpson and "Dr. Smoke", Ron Saglimbene who wowed the crowd along with fellow IAC competitor Charlie Schwenker and headliner Rob Holland.
In addition there were warbird static displays and flights including a B-25 and a Vought FG-1D Corsair from the American Airpower Museum at Republic Airport, Kevin Russo in his SNJ-6, David Brown in his stock PT-17, and Kirk Wicker with a great J-3 flying farmer routine.
Sunday was a different story. A weather washout. Our storm chaser Steve Seidel confirmed our abort decision early in the morning and retrieved our tent. Nothing flew Sunday, attendance was sparse and the show terminated. Reinforcements Mark Mattioli and Miriam Levin were on alert to assist Sunday, but it was not to be.
Overall the show was a success. We had a few serious inquiries about IAC membership, a lot of enthusiasm about a potential competition at Greenwood Lake, and we supported an appreciative 4N1 staff. PR wise we scored points with the local community, 4N1, and a few potential future members. So now the big question at Greenwood Lake is where do we mark the box?
Jay Tesauro