World Airshow News

06/21/2024

Kirby Chambliss to Receive 2024 Bill Barber Award for Showmanship

EAST TROY, WISCONSIN -- World Airshow News has announced that Kirby Chambliss is the 2024 recipient of the Bill Barber Award for Showmanship. One of the most prestigious awards in the airshow industry, the list of Barber honorees reads like an airshow hall of fame.

Long regarded as one of the top competition aerobatic pilots in the world, Chambliss won the very first aerobatic contest in which he competed, eventually working his way up to the top Unlimited level of competition. He was crowned United States National Aerobatic Champion five times between 1998 and 2005, and as a member of the U.S. National Aerobatic Team, won 13 medals at multiple world aerobatic championships. Thanks to his creative and aggressive flying style, Chambliss was the 2000 Freestyle World Aerobatic Champion.

In 2003, Chambliss began competing against top aerobatic pilots from around the world in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship, flying in every Red Bull air race until that competition ended after the 2019 season. Chambliss was the Red Bull Air Race World Champion for both the 2004 and 2006 seasons.

Throughout his aerobatic competition and air racing careers, Chambliss has also flown airshows all across North America in his now famous Red Bull Edge 540. He is known for his high-energy aerobatics as well as his signature “Cobra” takeoff. In recent years, he has thrilled airshow crowds as a member of the Red Bull Air Force alongside the Red Bull Skydivers and the Red Bull helicopter.

The Bill Barber Award for Showmanship began in 1986 and is awarded to airshow performers or teams that have demonstrated great skill and showmanship. World Airshow News magazine and the friends and family of the late Bill Barber present the award annually.

The 2024 Bill Barber Award for Showmanship presentation is planned for late July during EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

05/23/2024

https://www.facebook.com/RenoAirRaces/posts/pfbid02P6waqSJPiCy9t6nqBMKwbRKppE2WGGyuEVjgZ5j5ND9VjawAKDtjPPhsJtPT8wkol

The answer is finally here!

We are thrilled to announce our plans to hold the National Championship Air Races in our new home - ROSWELL, NM!

Thank you to everyone for all your support, we can't wait to see you there!

✈️ Roswell-Chaves County EDC ✈️ City of Roswell, NM Government

Learn more about the decision and plans below...
https://airrace.org/news/national-championship-air-races-take-off-for-roswell-nm-in-2025/

12/01/2023

07/16/2023

It has been confirmed that the Bill Barber for Showmanship Award presentation at EAA AirVenture is Tuesday 7/25 directly after the airshow concludes, at show center near where the performer aircraft are staged. Thus the surrounding public can view nicely. Congratulations to Nathan K. Hammond

Nathan Hammond to Receive 2023 Bill Barber Award for Showmanship -- World Airshow News has announced that Nathan K. Hammond is the 2023 recipient of the Bill Barber Award for Showmanship. One of the most prestigious awards in the airshow industry, the list of Barber honorees reads like an airshow hall of fame.

In less than 10 years as an airshow performer, Nathan “Nate” Hammond has established himself as one of the most creative and innovative performers on the airshow circuit. His popular night airshow features wing mounted pyrotechnics and bright LED lights, and he was instrumental in the development of innovative theme
acts such as Adventures of Aviore, which was featured at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Nate’s path to becoming an airshow star began in up-state New York where his father was a pilot for the airshow at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. He took his first airplane ride at just two weeks old, riding in his mother’s lap. When the family moved to Kentucky in the early 1990s, his dad became the crew chief and ferry pilot for Steve Oliver and Suzanne Asbury-Oliver of Pepsi SkyDancer and Pepsi SkyWriter fame. Nate quickly became a twelve-year-old ramp rat, helping his dad, Steve, and Suzanne any way that he could. Nate soloed at age sixteen, and by age eighteen, he had earned his commercial pilot license. A few years later, he took over from his dad as Steve Oliver’s crew chief and ferry pilot for the SkyDancer, a highly modified Super Chipmunk.

As his experience grew, Steve suggested that Nate learn how to skywrite and start working on getting his low-level aerobatic card in the Chipmunk. Steve wanted the show to be able to go own even if he got sick or couldn’t fly for some reason. Nate’s first skywriting assignment was over the Atlanta Motor Speedway with 100,000 spectators and a national television audience looking on. When the Olivers retired from airshows in 2016, Nate took over full control of the SkyDancer, renaming it GhostWriter.

In addition to flying his day and night airshow routines, Nate has also been a driving force behind the Black Flag airshow training camps, which began in 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdowns as a way for aerobatic pilots to stay sharp. Black Flag has since become an annual event, helping experienced aerobatic pilots stay sharp and providing a pathway for new airshow pilots to get coaching and mentoring to improve their proficiency and advance their airshow careers.

The Bill Barber Award for Showmanship began in 1986 and is awarded to airshow performers or teams that have demonstrated great skill and showmanship. World Airshow News magazine and the friends and family of late Bill Barber the award annually.

01/22/2023

12/07/2022

www.airshowmag.com

Look who’s on the cover of World Airshow News! 😁
We want to say a huge Thank You to Jim Froneberger and Jeff and Sandy Parnau! This is a true honor being on the cover of such a great magazine! We are also featured in a very well written, 6 page, story inside. If you’re not a subscriber to World Airshow News, go check out this awesome magazine I highly recommended it! It’s the best magazine about airshows in the industry!
http://www.airshowmag.com


Aircraft Specialties Services, Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Co., CamGuard, Univair Aircraft Corporation, C J Aviation, Whelen Engineering Company, Inc., B&C Specialty Products, MUTT MUFFS, Concorde Battery Corporation, Oregon Aero, Inc., David Clark Aviation Headsets, Champion Aerospace LLC, Goodyear Aviation, Precision Signs and Graphics, Airflow Performance Inc., ICAS - International Council of Air Shows, McFarlane Aviation Products, Pacific Oil Cooler Service

07/03/2022

Today’s Air Show will be flown In the Memory of Chris Darnell.
We lost Chris yesterday when an unfortunate incident took place. Words cannot describe the heartbreak we are experiencing. The Darnell’s have been a part of our event numerous times over the years and our hearts have been with them since the incident occurred.
We are proud of those that stepped up to help support the family following yesterday’s events. The Sam Luna Band donated their paycheck to the Darnell Family and put a bucket out for donations. The Megan Rae Band (Megan Rae Fans) followed suit with the bucket. Over the course of the two concerts last night, over $2000 was raised.
The incident remains under investigation and we have no further comment at this time and will refer everyone to the Battle Creek Fire Department statement released yesterday. Instead, we choose to focus on celebrating a wonderful man, father, husband, son, friend and performer. We will miss you, Chris.
-Barb Haluszka, Battle Creek Field of Flight Board Members and Volunteers

Stay tuned for today’s schedule. Show will start at 12:30 PM with a Missing Man in honor of Chris.