Art Lawler
The Athens Review
Athens —
PAYNE SPRINGS — It was the rainy night before the scheduled Sixth Annual Thunder Over Cedar Creek Lake Air Show last Saturday.
The annual Pilots Luau Party at the Pinnacle Club was festive and well attended, but there was a nervousness on the ground about the possibilities in the air the following day.
The cloud-cover had been hanging at about 700 feet all day. If it got any lower, a lot of cuts would have to be made for the planned air show, and officials could easily have to cancel the whole show.
In the end, however, Mother Nature allowed a stage at about 700 feet for most of the plane stunts. The Viper F-16 with its two co-pilots cheated. After a spectacular show of high speed turns and dips, the plane climbed on "the stage," and vaulted to about 5,000 feet in a matter of seconds. It looked like a mere dot disappearing into the heavens. Its return to the staging area was met with oohs and ahhhs, and a lot of appreciative applause.
"We were told that the star act of the show, would be the F-16, and it was magnificent," said Bob O'Neil with the Cedar Creek Veterans Foundation, which put on the show, Thunder Over Cedar Creek Lake charitable fund raising event by the Cedar Creek Veterans Foundation.
F16 at 700, below a thousand feet. we were told that the F16 at 700 would be the star act of the show. He did magnificent with a high speed turn and climbs to 5,000 feet in matter of seconds.
The East Coast Demonstration team stationed out of Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina was making its first trip to an East Texas air show in 26 years.
Unfortunately, the anticipated Tora, Tora Tora demonstration which recreates Pearl Harbor maneuvers, had led off the show in recent years, was unable to get to Cedar Creek Lake.
"They had a weather issue in Houston, and weren't able to get in the air," said, O'Neil.
Instead, this show was led off when a Dallas skydiver jumped out of his plane, and drifted slowly toward the crowd at the Pinnacle Club. As the skydiver grew closer, spectators were treated to the site of a large U.S. flag, with Cross Roads band director Ken McSpirit playing guitar and his 7-year-old daughter singing the National Anthem.
Unknown to most of the spectators, when the skydiver was ready to jump out of the plane, a hard rain was pelting him in the face, blinding him temporarily. When he jumped, he went straight down at first. His parachute and his flag were soaking wet.
Still, the skydiver was able to get it all together, and to present the flag, which from the ground, appeared no worse for wear.
What wasn't so accurate, was the skydiver's landing, which drifted away from the Pinnacle subdivision to a location two subdivisions away in Enchanted Oaks. The response team went to his aid, and found him quickly, unhurt and laughing about missing the mark.
The first acrobatic pilot to entertain the crowd with Noel Rather, a Vietnam war hero who flew F-105s during that long conflict.
"Half of 'em got shot down in that war," O'Neil said. For this show he flew an L-29 jet fighter, and thrilled the crowd with his long list of maneuvers.
How did officials convince the F-16s to finally make an appearance in Henderson County?
"We got them because we're a military charity," said O'Neil. "They could have gone to 50 other air shows, but they came here, because we do multiple charities for veterans. Randy Ball knows all of the people."
At the Pilot's Party the night before, Capt. Daniel Naim of Norman, Okla. and Maj. Rider, the two pilots on the plane had said they were able to reach speeds of 700 miles per hour flying at 700 feet, an experience that had fans turning their heads quickly from right to left as the aircraft quickly chewed up sky.
Obviously they can't break the sound barrier, O'Neil joked.
"I'm not about to pay for all of that broken glass," he said.
So a plane that can reach speeds of 1,500 miles per hour, "cruised" at 700 or so miles-per-hour.
This highly-maneuverable plane could seemingly do it all, and with sudden and lethal swiftness.
The F-16 crew includes brothers Audry Wendel and Kris Wendel, Jay Ryon Corrigan of Prattville, Ala., Staff Sgt. Jared Jones, San Diego, Calif., Staff Sgt. John Crow, Columbia S.C.; First Sgt. John Coleman, Grand Rapids, Mich., Tech Sgt. Pierre Julien, St. Louis Mo., Capt. Daniel Naim, Norman, Okla., and Major Rider.
“We’re here to show the fighting Air Force and Air Combat Command,” said Rider "We want to let everyone to know what the service men and women are doing, and what their aircraft and people are doing," he said.
With a little cooperation from the weather, they did just that less than 24 hours later.
The F-16 has two pilots and four maintenance personnel who keep the jet in top condition.
The pilots caught as many as nine Gs, which would be lights out for the untrained and unconditioned. The pilots said 9 Gs is nine times their body weight.
Ball, speaking the night before at the Pilot¹s Party, said he had been flying since he was 5 or 6 years old, having grown up in the Waco area.
He’s a pilot for Air Wisconsin, which is a part of U.S. Airways.
But for this air show, he was temporarily grounded from flying his MiG-17F due to some recent health problems.
As for the difference in flying commercial and as a stunt pilot, Ball said, "I just drive 'em." Obviously not the same way.
Ball has his own company, Fighter Jets, Inc., in which he is a laison between the U.S. Military and civilians. He flies the MiG-17F, which he would have flown, and has flown as the other air shows at Cedar Creek Lake.
This was the second year for the Cedar Creek Veterans Association to be associated with the 6 year-old air show.
It actually began with Ball six years ago when he agreed to make a flyover on July 4 over the lake.
"They liked it so much they just told me to keep bringing in more pilots."
He was especially proud of getting the F-16 crew appearance this year.
O'Neil said this year's event drew about 300 people to the VIP area of the Pinnacle Club, and about 2,000 visitors at its shoreline. In addition to that, O'Neil said those who watched the show numbered in the tens of thousands.
Cedar Creek air show had much praise for the Payne Springs volunteer fire department which brought all six of its rigs to the Pinnacle Club, and members of the Payne Spring Police Department helped with the security at no charge to the Foundation. East Texas Medical Center provided EMS services without charge.
Divers from the Tool Fire Department served as rescue divers, as well as did others from Kaufman. O'Neil lauded the Cedar Creek Coast Guard Auxiliary under Commodore Joe Erwin, and so did some from Kaufman.
Other dignitaries recognized at the show include Lydia Henderson, director of the Fisher House charity which provides a place for family members of injured and ill veterans while they're in the hospital.
Also, included, was Dick Agnew, president of the Valor Foundation in Dallas. The former war hero from the Korean conflict, serves on the board of directors for the VFW.
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