Air Show Attendance Takes Off

Evelyn “Bobbi” Trout recalled being greeted by only a handful of fans back in 1929, when, as a young flier out of Van Nuys Airport, she established several flight speed and endurance records.

The pioneering aviator, now 93, spent most of Saturday sitting under a canopy signing autographs, posing for pictures and sharing stories with some of the estimated 145,000 people who attended the first day of the two-day Van Nuys Airport Aviation Expo ’99.

“Seventy years ago, there were a dozen people here and that was it,” Trout said, chuckling as she looked up at the crowd of people waiting to meet her.

“All you have to do is go for it,” she told one youngster, who said he hopes to fly someday.

City Councilman Joel Wachs, serving his 10th year as air show grand marshal, referred to last week’s World Cup triumph by the U.S. women’s soccer team when he told Trout, “Your accomplishments 70 years ago helped pave the way” for achievement by women today.

Lydia Kennard, newly appointed as the first female executive director of the city’s airport department, also saluted Trout.

Clay Lacy, a veteran pilot and operator at Van Nuys Airport, was among those to greet Trout, purchasing an autographed poster from her minutes before he stepped into his own vintage plane to demonstrate his piloting prowess for the air show.

Kathy Carle, 43, of Woodland Hills said she came to the show specifically to meet Trout. A pilot who flies only occasionally, Carle bantered about the cost of flying while Trout autographed a commemorative envelope. “I wish I had lived at her time,” Carle said. “It must have been wonderful.”

Relatively moderate temperatures and cooling breezes brought record crowds to the opening day, where spectators stood spellbound, staring into a clear blue sky at a dazzling array of aerobatics.

The crowd was nearly double that of the first day of last year’s show, when stifling temperatures reached 100 degrees.

The sea of humanity drifting among 70 aircraft on display periodically froze in place as pilots zoomed in circles, spirals and upside-down, pushing performance aircraft to the maximum.

Oohs and ahs punctuated with gasps, cheers and whistles greeted performances that ranged from the Army’s Golden Knights precision parachute team to the Los Angeles Fire Department’s helicopter demonstration.

Several of the aerobatic fliers spoke to the crowd over speakers as they endured the gravitational pulls of twists and turns in the sky. Headline performer Sean D. Tucker, who learned to fly at Van Nuys Airport and had to overcome early fears, stunned spectators with his “Sky Dance” ballet, even drawing vendors out from under their canopies to watch.

David Arroyo, 6, of Arleta said he had gone to the show with his mother, Toni, to see the AV-8B Harrier jet--an aircraft he fell in love with two years ago.

“That’s the one that’s the loudest, the second-fastest and it does a lot of neat stuff,” David said, munching an ear of corn as his mother misted his face with water.

But engine troubles were blamed for cancellation of the Harrier demonstration. Instead, the Golden Knights added a performance, dropping with precision onto the show grounds, prompting young boys to surge toward them from every direction as the team landed.

Three families traveled together to the show from Santa Clarita, a ritual they have repeated the past four years. Among them was Robyn Creitz, who said her father was a World War II Navy fighter pilot.

“We grew up with a lot of flying,” Creitz said, as her 10-year-old son, Daniel, scrutinized an infrared camera mounted on a police helicopter. “I like the old planes and I like to see them side-by-side with the incredible new ones,” she added.

Another in the party, Kyle Labeaune, 9, pointed out there is more to see at the air show than aircraft. “I like the tanks,” he said.

The thermometer Saturday peaked at 90 degrees and similar weather--drawing even larger crowds--is expected today, officials said. Because of the crowds, additional food booths will be provided today to met the demand, show spokeswoman Stacy Geere said.

An estimated 650 community volunteers are participating in the expo, expected to draw more than 300,000 spectators throughout the weekend, Geere said. Proceeds raised at vendor booths will benefit 22 nonprofit Valley organizations.

The show will continue today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.