I attended the impressive ICAS convention in December and was again astonished at the scope of the North American airshow industry. ICAS was fabulous after a break of some 18 years. I was made very welcome by John Cudahy, the CEO, and his team along with all those from the North American airshow industry that I met. Even the FAA though I reckon they have a rule bound attitude and lack the degree of flexibility in interpretation that we had in the UK CAA while I was in charge of general aviation operations including the airshow scene. They all made a geriatric, overweight, balding airshow participant veteran of over 50 years in the no safety net circus feel part of the US airshow family. It was much appreciated.
Here are some thoughts of mine on perhaps the most important element of the convention seminar proceedings.
The message from the ICAS board of directors voiced loud and clear at this year’s convention was "Culture Change". A change to promote the concept of being able to approach anyone who gives you cause for concern and to discuss those concerns. A change to allow the person approached to listen to those concerns in a friendly and sincere manner. Whether he or she changes anything is entirely up to them. At least it will reduce those awful occasions when, after a tragedy, some folk say that it was inevitable after seeing the same thing on a previous occasion though then they had said nothing. How they can sleep at night I shall never know. For the last five decades I have seen myself as "my brother’s keeper" and I have tried to keep folk away from the dangers inherent in display flying. For 14 of those years as the person responsible for the UK airshow scene in the CAA I was paid to do so. I have not always been successful but at least I tried.
The ICAS Aerobatic Competancy Evaluators committee is to review some ACE’s who seem to fall short of their obligations in some respects. Standards must be of the highest practicable level. All ACE’s will have regional education seminars which they must attend to keep their authorisation as evaluators.
Perhaps the most persuasive argument for a culture change was the realisation that airshow tragedies impact the entire industry, not just those intimately involved with personal grief. Spectators, participants, airport operators, the media, the regulators and, vitally, the sponsors find the spectacle of another airshow icon being killed totally unacceptable. Sponsorship is the lifeblood of the industry, especially in the USA, and no sponsor wishes to see his product or service associated with tragedy on a regular basis. Negative publicity is ultimately a major deciding factor in whether or not to continue for any sponsor who always has a wide range of potential fields in which to invest.
Folk listened to my views on the "hard deck" concept with interest. Especially as I said the US resistance was illogical. They already have a whole system of hard decks in that no one starts with a "to the surface" waiver. Everyone works their way down progressively after a satisfactory recommendation from an ACE at each lower level. My so called "hard deck" at 30 feet is in fact a "soft deck" of life insurance only a millisecond in time deep but a lifetime in reality. It gives those who monitor safety standards a measure of compliance with regulations imposed by either the CAA/FAA or the show organiser. Fail to comply and censure could result or even, in extreme cases, the removal of the ability to earn a living in the performers chosen profession either temporarily or permanently. Better that than to explain your indiscretion to an unsympathetic Saint Peter who has heard it all before from many airshow industry icons who stood at the Pearly Gates seeking admission.
My first airshow flying mentor in the 1950’s said "Airshow flying is an art. The art of making the easy look difficult, the difficult look impossible and to leave the impossible well alone". I have, on occasion, failed to remember those wise words but only briefly – until after my last piece of airshow stupidity. No one pays enough to make any airshow participant buy the farm.
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