Press Release

Press Release

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This past weekend, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University celebrated 40 years of lounging at altitude in Daytona with Homecoming festivities and Skyfest, a display of airborne acrobatics that might as well have been ripped from the most recent Star Wars videogame.  While official numbers have not yet been released, the event drew and delighted several thousand local and out-of-state aviation enthusiasts who kept their eyes to the sky and their hearts in their throats.

“We were hoping for a number around 50,000 for the two days,” said Gretchen Flint, a marketing specialist with the college.  “But from what I’ve seen this weekend, it might be higher.  Really, though, this event is for anyone looking to have a good time.  It’s Homecoming Weekend, so we’ve welcomed back graduates working in the industry, but we’ve also welcomed those with no affiliation to the school who are simply looking for an alternative weekend event.  Many of the activities in this town are geared towards adults, so this show is something that everyone can enjoy while still being totally outside the box.”

Performers and planes, each with their own bag of tricks, came from all over the world to delight the crowds with inverted rolls, split s’s and crazy Cubans.  Several of the top names in aviation aerobatics were on-hand, including Michael Mancuso (in the photo to the right) and Matt Chapman.  Both offered dizzying individual performances and a duet performance that had the crowd gasping and applauding—or waving, as the official air show applause is better described. Apparently pilots can’t hear claps inside the cockpit while pulling 7 g’s. Go figure.  

The show also featured Les Shockley’s “Shockwave” truck – a modified Peterbuilt sporting three jet engines capable of 36,000 horsepower. It’s been clocked at a top speed of 376 miles an hour on a two-mile runway.  Throwing plumes of smoke into the air and spewing fire in aggressive bursts as it warmed up, Shockwave had children and adults clamoring to get a view of it in action (photo below).

While Skyfest 2005 and Homecoming were designed this year to be as much a celebration of Riddle’s longevity as its programs and industry success, the event also acts as an annual celebration of the people who bring life and meaning to those classroom lectures and awards.  Alumni old and young returned to campus to celebrate their experience at Riddle with the biggest alumni turnout in recent years.

Students at Riddle often choose to attend the college to fulfill a lifelong dream of flight, and many alumni go on to have successful careers in the military, as well as the commercial and private airline industries.  Planes from each line of work graced the tarmac, and patrons were allowed to tour a Federal Express Boeing 727 and a Boeing K-C 135 E-model, part of the Air Force’s 190th Air Refueling Wing.  The Air Force also had their fighter jets on-hand for not-too-close looking sessions and pilots available to answer any questions little (or grown-up) kids had.  The Marines were there, as well, with the versatile and imposing F-18 dominating the fighter fleet.

“I love this show and I love coming back to this campus,” said Ron Strauss, ’92, a pilot for DHL.  “And I love my job.  It allows me to fly one of the fastest transport planes around, the 727, and it doesn’t keep my away from my family.  Even thought we’re a small company, DHL employs quite a few Riddle grads, and probably not by accident.  As far as work goes, though, there’s no other business I’d rather be a part of than the cargo industry.  It’s much more stable than the passenger industry, and I get to fly a workhorse of a plane.”

A few of the planes and their pilots had seen some type of combat.

Maj. Jeff Warrender of the Kansas Air National Guard Coyotes was part of Operation Northern Watch, a mission during the early stages of the present Iraq war.  He was tasked, along with his commanding officer, Embry-Riddle graduate Lt. Colonel Brian Becker, ’82, with refueling fighters and other aircraft in the northern part of Iraq nearest the no-fly zone that was imposed along Turkey’s border.  He answered questions for most of the day about the 135 E, and he had a front row seat to the aerobatic action.

“I was here back in 1999, and it was a good time then,” he said.  “I’m too busy with my family and work to really consider taking up aerobatics, but it looks like fun.  The Guard is great because refueling is a challenge.  Every mission, whether peaceful or wartime, brings its own unique scenarios.  And I’ve gotten to see a lot of really cool places.  The best part is knowing that other planes depend on us to complete their missions, though.

“But in addition to fuel, the 135 E has 58 seatbelts for personnel transport.  Whenever the plane is deployed, it operates as a fully self-supported entity, with each team, for example, the mechanics and hydraulics guys, brining their necessary equipment.  So it’s a pretty complicated job.”

Sean Leaman, ’01, veteran of Riddle’s ROTC program and Operation Iraqi Freedom, also was on-hand for Skyfest.  Good natured and willing to talk, he drew a constant stream of people to his fighter jet, the F-15 E, as they asked questions, looked into the afterburners and wondered if the pod pictured here was some kind of unassuming bomb.

“We’re able to carry 24,000 pounds of ordinances, from 25 lb. practice bombs to 5,000 bunker busters,” he said.  “We can be fully equipped with air-to-air sidewinder missiles and radar guided AMRAAM missiles, depending on our mission.  But that pod there is for our underwear.  The cockpit doesn’t leave much room for a duffel bag.”

Embry-Riddle was originally founded with the “simple plan to train airplane pilots in a thorough, efficient manner and to cash in on a booming post-World War I interest in flying. Today, Embry-Riddle leads the world in aviation and aerospace higher education,” the college’s web site reads.  It has persevered with the same spirit that drove the Wright Brothers to succeed and turns out some of our nations best pilots that help keep our interests safe.

This year’s Skyfest marked ERAU’s 40 years in Daytona, and the event was truly a homecoming for those that have already attained their goal, those who are still aspiring and those who can simply appreciate flying. In the hearts and minds of many, though, it was much more. It was a gathering of kindred spirits hell-bent on defying the odds.  It was affirmation that aviation is the fulfillment of a dream rather than a job.  It was a way for little kids to dream and for adults to remember their own childhood yearning to fly.  During these few days, it was clear that everyone was looking upward inside their own thoughts, wondering what the future holds.