Billed as "Lake County's first air show," the high-flying event took place Aug. 6, 1988, at what was then called the Gary Airport. It featured the U.
S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team, the Holiday Inn Aerobatics Team and other stunt plane performers. Tickets sold for $6 at SportMart, Carson Pirie Scott and Holiday Star Theater, according to a Times story.
"The purpose was to highlight the importance of the new Gary Airport," recalled 84-year-old Judith Root Stiles. She was among of group of Region residents who helped promote that air show before it became so popular in Northwest Indiana. "We heard that a group in Valparaiso was planning one at their airport and we convinced them to move it to Gary," Stiles told me.
"My personal memory was going up with the U.S. Army Golden Knights and watching them jump out of an airplane.
" I have a similar memory of going up with the famed and fearless Golden Knights during another air show years later. "Ready, set, go!" U.S.
Army Staff Sgt. Brian Karst yelled over the deafening engine noise. The team's Fokker F-27 military plane repeatedly circled the sky as the flight's crew chief gave hand signals to the team, telling them the ever-changing wind speed and direction.
The pilot kept circling around "wind drift indicators" that were tossed out a few seconds earlier. A few minutes later, team members would launch themselves from the aircraft like human kites. I interviewed them while taking notes in the back of the plane near two gaping openings where doors should be.
Most of the jumpers casually strolled about the plane as nonchalantly as walking in a bus. Some yawned while waiting for their jump time. Others stared blankly into the air or applied Chapstick to their lips or double-checked their equipment.
One team member got on his stomach in the open doorway, his cheeks rippling in the wind. He checked the target site, wind direction and every other variable as other jumpers exchanged special handshakes and gestures containing inside jokes. It's a Golden Knights ritual before every jump.
"Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!" Karst yelled with a smile. A minute later, each jumper briefly stood near the opening in rapid-fire succession. One second, two second, three second, each one jumped out sideways, immediately turning into floating black specks in the cloudy blue sky.
Two minutes later, they landed on the ground. "It's the best rush of my life!" Karst yelled to me before jumping. This weekend, the Golden Knights Parachute Team will again be jumping out of a plane over the Lake Michigan shoreline.
The Gary Air Show returns Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.
m., hosted by the city, the Gary/Chicago International Airport, and the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority. (For more information, visit www.
southshorecva.com/ air-show/.) "The Gary Air Show is a fantastic opportunity for residents and visitors from across North-west Indiana to experience a world-class aviation event while enjoying a fun-filled, family-friendly weekend at Marquette Park," Gary Mayor Eddie Melton said.
"This event also provides a valuable platform for our local businesses and community to showcase the great hospitality and amenities Gary has to offer." Historically, the air show has served as an airborne ambassador for the city, attracting tens of thousands of Region residents and outsiders to the city's Miller Beach section. The SSCVA is encouraging visitors to linger in Miller Beach after the main aviation activities have ended.
A media release states: "Attendees can look forward to breathtaking aerial performances from regional, national and international aviators, while enjoying the park's pristine beaches, dunes, and scenic views." Performers include Warbird Thunder, Trojan Phlyers, Randy W. Ball, Bill Stein, Kevin Coleman Aerosports by Red Bull, Ed Hamill Folds of Honor Biplane and the Bob Richards Machaira Muscle Biplane.
The world-famous U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds are not on the list this year.
At a previous air show media day event, I was allowed to fly with Maj. Tony "Split" Mulhare, who answered all my questions through his oxygen mask inside a F-16 fighter jet. His sleek aircraft was built in 1986, two years before the Hoosier Hoopla Air Show premiered.
"Are you ready to pull some G's?" Mulhare asked as we soared at 400 mph toward Grissom Air Force Base, near Logansport, a two-hour, 100mile drive from Northwest Indiana. "Sure," I replied while thinking to myself, "Don't throw up, don't throw up." First, the jet turned on its side, pulling incredibly hard to the left at 16 degrees per second.
We then flew upside down, as my helmet tapped against the canopy with a breathtaking 360-degree view. In the cockpit I wore a self-inflating G-suit, designed to exert force on the abdomen and legs to prevent blackouts. It does this by counteracting the tendency of blood to accumulate below the heart, reducing the supply to my brain.
"Wow, what a beautiful day," Mulhare told me, opening up a map on his lap as if we were driving in a minivan. He explained that the G-force is a result of the rapid acceleration of gravity against the body. In our situation, if we pulled a sharp left turn and accelerated past 500 mph — reaching 9 G's in less than 10 seconds — our bodies would experience nearly 1,800 pounds of force against it.
"We just did 9.2 G's," Mulhare told me. I didn't immediately answer him.
"Jerry, are you still OK?" he asked. "Uh, I think so," I replied. Once I regained my bearings, I asked Mulhare why the Thunderbirds, Golden Knights and U.
S. Navy Blue Angels entertain millions of people at air shows across the country. He told me it's for the three R's: to represent, recruit and retain.
"I have the best job in the world," Mulhare said as we descended back toward the Gary Jet Center. I was thinking the same thing about my job. Contact Jerry at Jerry.
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