Aviation Roundup Returns to Minden for 2018 with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels

Aviation Roundup Returns to Minden for 2018 with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels
Author

Daniel Amaya - CARSON Valley

Release Date

Friday, March 16, 2018

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MINDEN, Nev. (March 16, 2018) – The Aviation Roundup, held at the Minden-Tahoe Airport in northern Nevada just 45 minutes south of the Reno-Tahoe International Airport, returnsOct. 13 – 14, 2018 with showcase performances by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.

“We are honored and incredibly excited to welcome the U.S. Navy Blue Angels to the majestic Carson Valley region this October,” Bobbi Thompson, Airport Manager of the Minden-Tahoe Airport, host of the Aviation Roundup, said. “The Aviation Roundup has become one of the most exciting and anticipated events around and we’re confident this year will be even more so as the U.S. Navy Blue Angels will be joined by a host of talented acts including the Red Bull team.”

Held at Nevada’s fourth busiest airport, the Minden-Tahoe Airport, the 2018 Aviation Roundup also features Kirby Chambliss, the Red Bull Aerobatic Helicopter, the Red Bull Wingsuit Jumpers, Bill Stein Airshows, Danny Sorensen Golden Age Airshows, Gene Soucy Airshows, Greg Colyer Ace Maker Airshows, Jim Peitz Aerosports, Paul McCowan skydiving team and Dan Buchanan Airshows.

“Savvy Aviation Roundup fans know that watching the show from the sidelines or the Flightline Lounge at Minden-Tahoe Airport provides the very best, up-close and personal experience with the show and the performers,” Thompson added. “You literally feel it in your bones. Plus you are able to see these magnificent beauties up close and meet the pilots. There really isn’t anything like it.”

Advance purchase, discounted tickets are now available online.

The Carson Valley region serves as the host community for the Aviation Roundup. Lodging options including boutique, name brand and gaming resorts. For more information go toVisitCarsonValley.org.

ABOUT THE 2018 AVIATION ROUNDUP PERFORMERS:

U.S. Navy Blue Angels: Formed in 1946, The Blue Angels are the U.S. Navy's flight demonstration squadron, with aviators from the Navy and Marines. The Blue Angels' six demonstration pilots currently fly the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, typically in more than 70 shows at 34 locations throughout the United States each year, where they still employ many of the same practices and techniques used in their aerial displays in their inaugural 1946 season. An estimated 11 million spectators view the squadron during air shows each year. The Blue Angels also visit more than 50,000 people in a standard show season (March through November) in schools and hospitals. Since 1946, the Blue Angels have flown for more than 260 million spectators.

The Flying Bulls Aerobatic Helicopter: Back to perform in its first full season in several years, the Red Bull Aerobatic Helicopter brings together the jaw-dropping stunt work of aerobatics with the versatility and cool-factor of rotor craft. The combination is a performance that defies the laws of physics and stops spectators in their tracks. The Red Bull Aerobatic Helicopter will perform loops, rolls and other

maneuvers that most people have never seen executed by a helicopter. Pilot Aaron Fitzgerald was trained by Rainer Wilke and Siegfried “Blacky” Schwarz, the masters of the genre, and joined The Flying Bulls in 2017.

Red Bull Air Force Skydiving Team: This team of high-speed performance jumpers combines canopy jumps, wingsuit flying, swooping, and formation maneuvers that keep audiences on their feet. Team members jump from three platform heights, 1,500, 3,500 and 6,000 feet, and have also incorporated a “low pull” into the act, where a jumper deploys his canopy at just 1,000 feet. A real crowd-pleaser is the wingsuit jumper who flies across the show line at speeds approaching 100 mph. A performance like the Red Bull Air Force Skydiving Team is something most people only see in the movies. The in-person airshow experience is not to be missed.

Kirby Chambliss: Kirby Chambliss is well known for his aggressive flying style and competitive spirit. Kirby is five-time United States National Aerobatic Champion, two-time Red Bull Air Race World Champion and has accumulated 13 medals in World Competition. This aerobatic master continues to be at the forefront of his sport, with exciting, innovative endeavors.

Bill Stein Airshows: Bill Stein has logged over 5,000 hours of aerobatic and formation flight. Stein began flying aerobatics when he was still a student pilot and has been dedicated to perfecting his skills ever since. His passion for precision flying is evident in his dazzling air show routine and he trains every day so that those skills stay razor sharp. That’s why he is able to maintain the all-out energy and excitement needed during his air show sequence. Stein’s experience includes competitive aerobatics and years of flying on the world famous Red Baron Stearman Squadron.

Danny Sorensen Golden Age Airshows: Danny Sorensen is a second-generation pilot, who began flying aerobatics as a student pilot while still in high school. During his shows, he flies a BF9-2 Phantom biplane in classic aerobatic maneuvers. “It's all about entertaining the crowd and inviting them to feel a part of the show. When I visit with spectators at the show, I want them to leave feeling better about themselves than when they came.”

Gene Soucy Airshows: From wingwalking acts to World Championships to formation flying, “Mr. Airshow” has done it all. During his performance, Soucy tears up the sky in the ShowCat with his combination of smoke, noise and elegance. Crowds go wild for the roar of the monstrous Pratt & Whitney engine, and his trademark one-wheel landing proves the show isn't over until the big kitty purrs.

Greg Colyer Ace Maker Airshows: A native Californian, Gregory "Wired" Colyer took his first flight at age 7 in a Cessna 172 with Dr. Lee Schaller out of the Schellville airport in Sonoma, California. Hooked ever since, Colyer has been flying for almost three decades after earning his license in 1982, this while serving in the U.S. Army from 1982 – 1987. In 2008, he acquired a T-33 and named it Ace Maker – the jet plane he flies in airshows across the West.

Jim Peitz Aerosports: Jim Peitz believes that aviation is one of the greatest freedoms we enjoy in this country and nobody probably enjoys it more than he does. Peitz flies his certified aerobatic Beechcraft F33C Bonanza in an amazing demonstration that leave all who see it completely mesmerized. The specialized Bonanza is capable of a wide range of aerobatic maneuvers including loops, point rolls, barrel rolls, snap rolls, Cuban eights and hammerheads.

Paul McCowan Skydiving Team: Paul McCowan Airshows Skydiving Team has been performing

skydiving exhibitions since 1971. The team has performed over 6,000 exhibitions throughout the world. During day shows, the team exits an aircraft at an altitude of 5,000 feet while colorful trails of smoke enhance the freefall of the formation. Following this exciting freefall display and after their parachutes are safely open, more smoke is ignited and large circles of colorful smoke are traced through the sky.

Dan Buchanan Airshows: Dan Buchanan’s daytime hang glider show has become a comical "screw up" act. Buchanan’s "unscheduled" tow-launch into another aerobatic performers "act" starts the funny

banter on the PA system between him, the announcer and the other pilot. The police are also chasing his tow winch vehicle on the runway and the airplane is buzzing Buchanan, all while he's being winch

towed to 1,500'. The aerobatic airplane closely buzzes Buchanan several times trying to get him to cooperate with the announcer and officials, as he shoots special effects from the glider in defense.

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