Air Show Weekend Brings Thrills And Charity

PAYNESVILLE (WJON News) -- There will be thrills and chills in the sky for all to see at one Central Minnesota town this weekend. The Paynesville Air Show will feature flying performances from the Sioux Falls Vanguard Squadron, a World War II training plane, and even local motorcyclist Ryan Frank jumping a moving plane. Event Organizer Dan Grothe says the timing for the jump has to be perfect:

"They're currently doing some speed testing to determine the correct amount of time when he needs to start the dirt bike, as far as when the approaching airplane is at a certain point, so everything has to be very precise."

He says Frank is doing the stunt as a fundraiser for spinal cord injury research, and there will also be air rides available for $50 starting at 10:00 a.m. There will be a farmer's market, displays, and lots of food, too. Grothe says it takes a lot of planning and work to put the show together:

"These are pilots that are flying the National Air Show circuit, so you wanna make sure that you can pick somebody that it makes sense. You don't want to have somebody thats been performing in Florida and needs to come to Minnesota for a specific event and then leave again, that gets pretty expensive."

In addition to booking the pilots, Grothe says there is a tremendous amount of paperwork that has to be filed with the FAA in order to put on the show.

After the air show, there is a Backdraft Bash fundraiser for the Paynesville Fire Department's Firemen's Relief Association with the bands Diesel Fire and Dam Jammers playing. The Paynesville Air Show runs from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with the air performances starting at 2:30 p.m., and admission is free.

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