Hundreds turn out for Ramona Air Show

By: GIG CONAUGHTON - Staff Writer | Saturday, June 23, 2007 9:48 PM PDT ∞

RAMONA ---- Hundreds of people got a close-up look at Russian airplanes, experimental aircraft, firefighting air tankers, one-of-a-kind gyrocopters, a "flying banana" that starred in "Godzilla," feats of aerobatic derring-do, and even a couple of U.S. Navy F/A-18 fighter jets Saturday in Ramona at the 13th annual Ramona Air Show.

This year's show, which continues from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today, celebrated the backcountry airport's 50th anniversary as the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's regional air attack base. The air base, established in 1957, is the oldest permanent aerial firefighting base in the United States and is run jointly by the state and U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service.

Thomas Gillett, acting supervisor of the Cleveland National Forest, said over the heavy chop of the rotor blades of a state firefighting helicopter as it demonstrated a mock rescue for the crowds Saturday that the air base was an essential piece of local fire protection.

The air base is home to firefighting helicopters and Grumman S-2A fire tankers that he said had helped beat back several recent fires.

"These S-2 air tankers carry about 1,200 gallons of retardant, and that immediate response is critical," he said. "Catching the fire small. That's what we like to do. Keep them small."

But the big draw Saturday was the non-firefighting aircraft, and the chance to watch pilots like "Dr. D" ---- retired Azusa Pacific University sociology professor Frank Donnelly ---- fly right side up, upside down, sideways, death-defying loops, stalls, and other aerobatic feats.

Between shows, parents with baby strollers, children and pilots young and old wandered about to get a good look at all kinds of aircraft. They included several vintage helicopters, and gyrocopters that have rotor blades similar to helicopters but use them as wings to glide rather than as propellers to push them into the air.

One of those was the only remaining airworthy 1957 Vertol H-21B Shawnee/Workhorse, which was aptly nicknamed the "flying banana" because its bent, elongated shape looked like a big banana. Terry Robinson of Classic Rotors, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving old helicopters, said that among its other claims to fame, the Ramona "flying banana" actually scored a three-second appearance in the 1998 remake of the movie "Godzilla."

Not far from the helicopters, aspiring 31-year-old pilot Ryan Markley, rocking his 9-month-old daughter Katelyn back in forth in her stroller, peered into the tiny cockpit of a sleek experimental airplane.

"This is her first air show," Markley said of his daughter, as "Dr. D" began his aerobatic show overhead. "I'm hoping she gets the bug real early."

Markley, 31, said he just got his pilot's wings a couple of weeks ago, and that he hoped to make flying a career.

Meanwhile, 4-year-old Derrick Strickland shyly waited to talk to "Dr. D" after Donnelly finished his early show and taxied right back into the crowd.

For a few moments, Donnelly talked to the awe-struck little boy, and pointed out the other airplanes that would be going up to perform later in the day.

"I thought it was cool," Derrick said of the show. "I liked the part when he was flying upside down!"

Derrick's dad, Tyrone Strickland, said he and his family were visiting from Chicago, and jumped at the chance to come to a small-town air show.

He said that they have large shows in Chicago, but that it was difficult to get to them.

"I love fighter planes and things like that, so I came out to see these," he said.

Donnelly, meanwhile, said he was in his "late 60s" and had been flying for more than 40 years. He only decided to become a stunt flyer a few years ago after retiring from being a college professor.

He said Saturday was the second time he had flown at the Ramona Air Show, and that he really enjoyed the smaller events because of the chance to interact with the people who come out.

"It is nice," he said. "I fly a lot of the small air shows. I really like them. You talk to the people and they're really into it."

To get more information about the Ramona Air Show, go to www.ramonaairshow.com.

Contact staff writer Gig Conaughton at (760) 739-6696 or gconaughton@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.