Every August, the small, usually quiet airport of Greenwood Lake holds an airshow of international proportions. 2015 was not an exception to this, as internationally renowned airshow performers, such as Gary Ward, Jason Flood, Justin Lewis, and the Raiders Demo Team demonstrated flight to an audience ranging in the thousands. The venue of Greenwood Lake is probably one of the best venues in the area, as it has probably the prettiest backdrop I've seen. Aerobatics are performed above the large Greenwood Lake and the town of West Milford, NJ. Being on top of a hill, this airshow often features performers diving below the hill to add dramatic effect to their performances. Many airshow enthusiasts like to compare Greenwood Lake to Sussex's airshows from the early 2000's. Doing my research, I can see why.
Entering the airport, I am greeted by a massive Lockheed Constellation. Urban legend has it that the Connie flew in once, and couldn't take back off. So it just lay there derelict until airport developers bought the plane, and turned it into a bistro. Speaking of bistro, the Greenwood Lake Airport has a terrific one on grounds, which isn't open during airshow hours. However, it should be noticed as I took a $100 hamburger flight over in the weeks after the airshow. Walking in, all of the performing aircraft are positioned on the ramp, with their crew members ready to answer any question you have. I set up right by the hot ramp, this way I can watch ground operations, as well as spend time with the flight crew of each respective aircraft. Lots of time was spent with performing friends, Jason Flood and Justin Lewis. I've known the two for a long time before, and they were amazing to spend time with, watching the airshow.
At about 12:30 PM, the first act to the skies. Redline Airshows, a duo of two Vans RV-8 aircraft, flown by Ohio natives, Ken Reider and Jon Thocker. While Redline is a new act to the airshow industry, the two pilots and their planes were members of Team Aerodynamix, the 11-ship Vans RV airshow act.
Entering the airport, I am greeted by a massive Lockheed Constellation. Urban legend has it that the Connie flew in once, and couldn't take back off. So it just lay there derelict until airport developers bought the plane, and turned it into a bistro. Speaking of bistro, the Greenwood Lake Airport has a terrific one on grounds, which isn't open during airshow hours. However, it should be noticed as I took a $100 hamburger flight over in the weeks after the airshow. Walking in, all of the performing aircraft are positioned on the ramp, with their crew members ready to answer any question you have. I set up right by the hot ramp, this way I can watch ground operations, as well as spend time with the flight crew of each respective aircraft. Lots of time was spent with performing friends, Jason Flood and Justin Lewis. I've known the two for a long time before, and they were amazing to spend time with, watching the airshow.
At about 12:30 PM, the first act to the skies. Redline Airshows, a duo of two Vans RV-8 aircraft, flown by Ohio natives, Ken Reider and Jon Thocker. While Redline is a new act to the airshow industry, the two pilots and their planes were members of Team Aerodynamix, the 11-ship Vans RV airshow act.
FEATURED ACT: Redline Airshows
As stated above, Redline Airshows is a fairly new aerobatic team to the airshow industry. They are a duo of two Vans RV-8 aircraft, being piloted by airshow veterans Ken Reider and Jon Thocker. The two pilots have experience from Team Aerodynamix, a full out 11-ship aerobatic performance. As compared to Team Aerodynamix, Redline Airshows displays as a calm, squirrel cage act that someone can fly with their own Vans RV-8. You can really tell these guys enjoy flying with each other, as they do some things that I've never seen done in an RV-8 before. Those guys are true professionals, and you can see it in their act.
As stated above, Redline Airshows is a fairly new aerobatic team to the airshow industry. They are a duo of two Vans RV-8 aircraft, being piloted by airshow veterans Ken Reider and Jon Thocker. The two pilots have experience from Team Aerodynamix, a full out 11-ship aerobatic performance. As compared to Team Aerodynamix, Redline Airshows displays as a calm, squirrel cage act that someone can fly with their own Vans RV-8. You can really tell these guys enjoy flying with each other, as they do some things that I've never seen done in an RV-8 before. Those guys are true professionals, and you can see it in their act.
After the Redline RV-8s made perfect landings, it was time to launch experienced aerobatic instructor Greg Koontz. Greg flew his first of two aerobatic performances, this one being in the American Champion Xtreme Decathlon. The Xtreme Decathlon is an upgrade from the well-known Super Decathlon, as it is practically the same airframe, but with 210 horsepower up front. Greg really showed off what the extra 210 horsepower can do. A group of three T-34 Mentors took to the skies, following Greg Koontz. The three pilots, formerly from the Lima Lima Flight Team performed a series of photo passes. It was then time to launch one of the three jets at Greenwood Lake. Justin "Shmed" Lewis brought in his FLS Microjet, a rendition of the famous Bede BD-5J Microjet from all the way in Oklahoma. He flew figures that you see F-16s, and F/A-18s fly, but in an FLS Microjet. It's almost like he was an F-14 Tomcat pilot for the Navy (he was by the way). Justin flew later, as he was racing a special treat for airshow fans. And no, it's not a Bond villain. It was Jerry McCart driving the Wicked Willy Jet Funny Car. It was a pretty tight race all along, and was awesome to hear the sound of jet engines at a small town airshow.
For a few minutes, the sound of reciprocating engines and jets was interrupted by Kevin Russo and the Jersey Jerks formation team flying the North American T-6/SNJ Texan. Kevin Russo lead the flight of three also featuring Gavin Nagle and Buzz Cortese in their respective SNJ Texans, and followed with an aerobatic capability demonstration of the SNJ. This was followed by Gary Ward piloting his green and purple MX2 aerobatic aircraft in a showstopping demonstration of airmanship. Ward ended his aerobatic performance with a race against Jerry McCart and the Wicked Willy Jet Funny Car. Hackensack University Medical Center then demonstrated the manuverability of the Eurcopter EC-135 P2+ helicopter with a flight demonstration. Turbines followed respectively with a flight demonstration of the Aero Vodochody L-29 Delfin, flown by local native Jon Socolof, and then a ground run of a Jet Golf Cart.
Then it was time for the civillian all-star lineup that Greenwood Lake Airshow is known for. This portion of the show started with Greg Koontz and the Alabama Boys performance with a comedy act of the Piper J-3 Cub. I have to say that it is always really impressive watching Koontz do what he does in a stock J-3 Cub, that has a starter. Greg Connell then took the stage in his modified WolfPitts, built by legendary airplane builder Steve Wolf. Jason Flood then took the stage in his Pitts S-1S aircraft showing off what the S-1S and a skilled airman like Jason could do. The Raiders Demo Team then showcased the Russian radial equipped Yakvolev Yak-52, as well as the Chinese built Nanchang CJ-6 with the Chinese radial engine. Carol Pilon then walked the wings of her beautiful 1942 Stearman, flown by world-class CFI Marcus Paine. To conclude the flying portion of the show, Greg Connell and Gary Ward flew a squirrel cage act formerly known as Team Chaos.