by Gerry Molidor, IAC 14825

WAC 2003

From the President's Perspective

Wow, what a year this has been! Shortly after the IAC Board appointed me to the office of president, I went to our Oshkosh office to get a detailed briefing of work in progress. When we got to the subject of the 22nd World Aerobatic Championships (WAC), I remember asking to see the budget for the event. The answer I got was that other than Contest Director Phil Knight’s preliminary operations budget, there wasn’t one from the main office. At that moment, I realized we were in big trouble. What happened in the next 12 months was the most amazing example of what working together can accomplish.

The main reason I agreed to take on the job of IAC president was that I couldn’t in good conscience walk away from our club during a time when it needed help the most. There were some, including myself, that contemplated aborting the WAC during the next few months, but we all realized that canceling would deal yet another blow to our collective self-esteem. The financial risk of running a WAC, however, was huge, and we were in no shape financially to absorb a loss if we missed on this thing. Tom Poberezny, president of EAA (our parent organization), was very concerned about our ability to organize and run the WAC, especially with all the problems we were having in spring 2002. He was also concerned about our image if we didn’t host it.

Being a division of the EAA is powerful. I was a believer in this relationship before accepting the presidency, and after a little more than a year on the job, I can honestly say it is crucial to our long-term health. I remember vividly an early conference call with Tom where he shared advice on how to approach the budget process. From that advice, IAC Executive Director Lisa Popp went to work on developing three separate budgets: a bare bones budget, a medium budget, and an “all the bells and whistles” budget. After reviewing the results, I was more skeptical than ever that we could pull this off. Even the bare bones budget was six figures in the red.

One thing I did not want to do as president was get mired down working too much on this one project, causing me to divert too much attention away from the day-to-day operations of the club. I decided to delegate the project to IAC Vice President Dave Monroe and Mike Maloney, the director appointed to fill my vacancy when I became president. Both lived close to me, and we had regular meetings early on to form a strategy and direction. On the way back from picking up Dave Monroe’s new Yak-52TW in Vermont, Mike Maloney, who was flying chase in a Mooney, had engine failure on takeoff and ended up breaking his back. My two best men were now tied up with more important things. I’m happy to say Mike is standing and walking a bit with the help of a cane, but doing snap rolls in the box will have to wait a while longer.

A deadline was rapidly approaching with a press conference that was scheduled for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Sun ’n Fun Inc., the United States Aerobatic Foundation (USAF), and the IAC were to announce the hosting of the WAC in Lakeland, Florida, in summer 2003. A press release announcement had already been issued in Lakeland, Tampa, and Orlando. Originally, it was understood that the three organizations would come together to host the event. Through meetings held in Milwaukee, we learned that the IAC would be the only one holding all the financial liability for the event. With this in mind and for simplicity, I asked USAF to withdraw from the pact, which they did. Sun ’n Fun was bringing a significant amount to the table with the use of its facility and all the volunteer support we would need to run the event. This was huge, and its facility was perfect for the event. I still had severe reservations about the finances of the event, and a meeting was scheduled at EAA AirVenture prior to the press conference so I could fess up to Sun ’n Fun.

Honesty is always the best policy even when it hurts, and the budgets were presented to Sun ’n Fun’s President John Burton and Vice President Greg Harbaugh. I started from the beginning and revealed that I was having trouble understanding how we were going to make ends meet financially. I advised them if we couldn’t come up with a viable solution, I would be negligent in my fiduciary responsibility by leading the club down this path. John Burton asked how much time we had to make a decision to go or abort on the event. Through a discussion with CIVA President Mike Heuer, we set September 1 as the deadline. John went back to Lakeland to see if enough support could be drummed up to push us over the edge. Meanwhile, we were already seeking professional fundraising help to close the gap. The IAC Board was kept abreast of the situation and agreed with our approach, but I felt we would need a real breakthrough to get the green light from the board.

While all this was going on, Lisa Popp kept refining the bare bones budget to get us closer. Insurance was a big wild card, especially after September 11. Our original guesstimate on an insurance premium gave me heartburn! We were going to have to get this number lower to have the event, and Sun ’n Fun held negotiations to determine the city of Lakeland’s comfort level on a liability limit. To do this, the people were educated on WAC operations and were told it would not draw as many people as the Sun ’n Fun Fly- In. Great news came just prior to our deadline when John Burton called to report that the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce had indicated its support for the event. I’m not sure how that understanding would have held up if push came to shove, but it was enough for me to convince the IAC Board that momentum was building for financial support, and we should not abort the project. It worked, and I received the green light to continue. Later on, John Burton confirmed a reduced liability rate that tremendously improved the insurance line of the spreadsheet.

We weren’t making much progress in September and October with the fundraising, although I must express my sincere appreciation to Gerd Mühlbauer of MT-Propeller for being the first one to step in during that time with help for the WAC. I knew that times were tough, but with so few companies agreeing to help, I was getting increasingly nervous about closing the financial gap and what it would mean for the IAC if we didn’t. Meanwhile, Phil Knight’s progress and preparation for the operational side never missed a beat. Throughout this whole project, I felt blessed that we had Phil as our contest director.

November was the CIVA meeting in Germany. The purpose of my attending, the first for an acting IAC president I am told, was to present the WAC progress, describe the facility, and set the registration fee to the highest level it had ever been. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the delegates from various countries, and many of them were friends from previous world events. However, that didn’t stop them from delivering a humiliating setback by rejecting our proposed registration fee. Keep in mind where we had started from in this project and that the fee of $1,500 for double occupancy and $1,900 for single occupancy didn’t come anywhere close to covering the actual expense of the event. My thought was that these prices were pretty cheap considering it covered room accommodations, meals, and fuel and oil for the 10 days of the event. I was literally stunned. After a break and re-communication of the fee in a clearer fashion, the registration fee was approved, but I knew leaving that meeting in Germany that we had better deliver the best WAC CIVA had ever seen.

In December we still had no major contributor to the event, and we had now reached a point of commitment and organization that I felt comfortable asking for help from some very special friends. Anybody who knows me well knows how I feel about Anheuser-Busch. I would never have asked for help if I wasn’t 100 percent sure I personally could deliver. In an early December visit to St. Louis, I had the opportunity to discuss our progress with Steven Busch, the youngest and best of Busch family aviators. I asked him if he could help me approach Bernie Little Distributors in Lakeland (the Bud distributor) about help with the WAC. He said he would be glad to, and through our conversation about the IAC and our financial condition, he requested to see our spreadsheet for the WAC. Later that month we set a January meeting date to meet in Lakeland and discuss what might be possible.

Progress continued through the holidays, and Steven Busch, Phil Knight, John Burton, Greg Harbaugh, Jon Tennyson, and I met in Lakeland on Super Bowl weekend to see if we couldn’t move things along. Steven was patient with the business approach that was set forth and helped direct creative solutions to our problems. He also asked us to get real with our figures and then send him the results of our best efforts. After slashing the budget to the bone the first part of February, we received definitive word that Anheuser-Busch would in fact be the presenting sponsor, and it would also host the closing ceremony at SeaWorld, which is one of its companies. To say we were ecstatic about this development would be the year’s biggest understatement.

It was right after this meeting that Lisa Popp and I decided to rearrange the duties of the IAC office to handle the load. Many of the IAC Board and EAA staff were rightly concerned with the extended period of time that we were running at 120 percent. Lisa had to be freed up from daily IAC tasks to go as full time as possible on WAC preparation. This was a crazy and delicate time for all of us to balance the many demands. This would only intensify as we approached the event. It was gut wrenching to know how much was riding on the success of this event and yet still try to remain attentive to all the other business aspects of our organization. Nothing ever stopped or slowed; it just kept on coming.

Magical things began to happen after Anheuser-Busch came on board. Peripheral sponsorships began to happen, and Phil Knight was able to secure a few significant deals through his contacts in organizing the event. One of the big ones was Kermit Weeks’ donation and party at the Fantasy of Flight Museum. Another was a sizable fuel and flight line service donation from Air BP Aviation Fuel Services and Santex Corporation. John Burton was able to secure key rental and complimentary auto arrangements from Michael Holley Chevrolet of Lakeland. Phil and Greg Harbaugh were finalizing logistical details relative to the competitive box and the support structure behind it. Everything was coming together, and then the long-awaited Iraq war began and was quickly followed by SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). The war and the economy were contemplated months in advance, and it was decided that all we could do was roll the dice and continue full steam ahead. It was nerve-racking, especially when teams were writing about security and expressing that they weren’t sure of their participation. It took constant reassuring that everything would be all right. Even still, for some teams, we didn’t know until the last minute if they were coming or not. As it turned out, they all did.

Insurance was still a big worry for us. After September 11 insurance rates for events, especially international events, remained volatile. Compounding this problem was the fact that insurance could not be secured until all the contracts were in, and that’s tough when you’re still negotiating them right up until the start of the event. All I kept hearing was that we should have started sooner on this event, and all I wanted to say was that I’d only been on the job less than a year and this was all the time we had! Anheuser-Busch’s contract was rushed through in record time, as were other vendors’ contracts. The one that eluded us from the start— and the one probably the most important— was the IAC/Sun ’n Fun agreement. From the start of the new year on, Sun ’n Fun is deeply involved with its own event in April.

There are very few people I trust doing a deal with a handshake, but John Burton, president of Sun ’n Fun, is one of those people. We had worked together since EAA AirVenture to make sure this event would happen, but in spite of constant acknowledgment that the contract must get done, it was slipping significantly behind schedule. Now it was holding up the issuance of our insurance. The Sun ’n Fun Board required a separate corporation to be formed before agreeing to lower liability coverage limits. These were reasonable requests, but it nearly gave me a cardiac arrest being so close to the event. Director Louie Andrew, our EAA representative and legal counsel, was a tremendous help in navigating through the red tape. I appreciated everybody’s “can do” attitude throughout this crunch time period. Fortunately, while all the last-minute arrangements were being made, EAA’s Corporate Risk Manager Karen Kryzaniak was getting the job done behind the scenes to be ready as soon as the ink dried on our insurance certificate. Everything was finalized the day before we started and I’ll tell you, my stomach is not the type to operate in this way on a regular basis.

Arriving in Lakeland a couple of days before the event, I was about to witness how great a leader Phil Knight is. He had developed a Policy and Procedure Manual for the event along with an implementation plan. The CFO of operations, Bob Stark, was Phil’s right-hand man and was making sure shuttle service, hotel, meal, and a myriad of other functions were running smoothly. The execution phase of the event had been activated for the last four weeks, and oh, was it coming together. Hampering setup was the deluge of rain central Florida had received in the preceding three weeks. Longtime IAC member George Stock had been on site for a week to help Phil lay out the box and finish a number of other jobs. Placing the box markers was delayed until the day before the event because of the rain, but everything that could have been done was.

Anyone who has organized a good regional contest knows the importance of competent registration people. Patty (West Dundee) Knight, Darla Stark, Suzie Becker, and Sigrid Baumann ran registration like that’s all they have done their whole life. It was relaxed, efficient, and flawless—even when there were last-minute changes to the order of flight. Also working in registration were IAC Vice President Allyson Parker-Lauck and Director Tom Adams, who checked all the participants’ freestyles for accuracy. The FAA building at Sun ’n Fun was used for registration, briefings, weather observation, and the temporary IAC office. It was air-conditioned, and the FAA Production Studio was perfect for briefings. It had state-ofthe- art audio visual aids, a sound system, and comfortable seating. The FAA staff members—Wayne Boggs, Ron Morgan, and Production Studio Director Obie Young— were fantastic! The old saying goes, “I’m from the FAA, and I’m here to help.” Well, I am here to tell you that is exactly what they did, big time, and I have a ton of respect for them.

Bill Schmidt from Bernie Little Distributors was busy decorating the grounds in Bud Light signage and arranging beer for a volunteer party. The thought was to have the volunteers get acquainted with each other before show time started the next day. It was fun, and everyone enjoyed the Hooters’ restaurant waitresses who were passing out chicken wings. In total, we had approximately 130 volunteers: 60 helping with flight operations working under Phil and another 70 manning the grounds on the public side under Jean and Jim Taylor. Jim also coordinated one of our ancillary events, the International Miniature Aerobatic Club radio-controlled airplane championship.

Media coverage was amazing, and I think they were amused that another major international aviation event had descended on Lakeland, Florida. Phil, John Burton, and I did a number of live and taped interviews, as did many pilots from around the world. I was very proud to speak at the opening ceremony banquet, which was complete with a live big-band orchestra and a continuous-loop projection presentation of the pilots, judges, and international jury. For the actual opening ceremony, conducted directly in front of the international tent village, we had seating set up for 500 people, and the weather was absolutely perfect. Lakeland Mayor Buddy Fletcher, Phil Knight, Clint McHenry, and I made presentations. Then CIVA President Mike Heuer declared the World Aerobatic Championships open. The ceremony was followed by a terrific one-hour night air show and an awesome fireworks display by Rod Geir, the “Mad Bomber.” The show concluded with a sign that was hoisted up 100 feet from behind the international village that read, “WAC 2003” in fireworks. That set the tone for the championship, and things just kept getting better as the days clicked by.

Programme Q (same as the Known in IAC) went off without a hitch. An international championship is a bit different from our domestic contests. Competitors get 10 minutes from time of takeoff to complete their flight. This increases to 15 minutes for Programmes 1, 2, and 3. Radios are sealed on the chief judge’s frequency, and the pilots are not allowed to change it unless there is an emergency. Via a prearranged agreement with Lakeland tower, Phil was allowed to control the entire south side of the airport. A temporary 9R/27L Runway was made out of a taxiway, and aircraft were launched and recovered by a flag system. The pattern flight path was strictly briefed and controlled, making it possible to have silent radio procedures, which was beneficial because of the multiple languages of the participants. The only thing necessary was to establish initial contact with the chief judge.

Phil delegated weather observation duties, including the wind balloon operation, to Alex Belov. Alex, president of IAC Chapter 52, is an employee of The Weather Channel, and he was able to secure the services of the premier theodolite expert in the country, Martin Brenner, from the College of the Arts, California State University-Long Beach. A theodolite is a surveying instrument to measure the angle of ascent, and thus by measuring against blocks of time, you can very accurately determine wind velocity at multiple levels. CIVA rules require accurate readings at the surface and at 500 meters in the vicinity of the aerobatic box. The international jury was impressed to have such an expert performing this closely followed aspect of championship weather observation.

International rules dictate that winds in the box do not exceed 12 meters per second head wind and not more than 8 meters per second crosswind. That’s approximately 24 knots and 16 knots respectively. At times Alex and Martin were launching weather balloons every 30 minutes for the most recent wind observation. Phil had arranged dual starting lines with the starter’s tent located between the two. Weather boards with the latest wind observation were located there, at the end of the runway, and in the international village. One of the nice touches Phil thought of was the scaffolding towers, which supported a huge shade over the entire aircraft. This allowed teams to roll their airplane up under the shade for final strap-in and start-up. It was little things like this that showed everyone that we wanted to make this championship special.

The same efforts applied to the judges and international jury. The starting line had three tents: a large one in the middle and two smaller ones on either end. Each of the tents housed one or two evaporator fans, along with snacks, drinks, and the video review equipment. It was firstclass all the way and was very much appreciated. Ann Salcedo and Greg Dungan were in charge of the hospitality and the volunteer efforts for the judges, corner judges, starters, and anywhere else it was needed. They were absolutely loved for their efforts, and they were perfect choices for this important job. I think they might have spoiled the international officials forever, and it was a great source of pride for me personally to see my international friends taken care of so well.

Greg also made friends with a 100 head of cattle while setting up and tending the boundary markers and transporting the boundary judges on a daily basis. Every night Greg had to take down the strings on the sighting devices because the cattle would trample through them if he didn’t. Cows are not very bright animals, and their curiosity of sighting devices and box markers affirmed this. I wonder if the pilots noticed the markers turning yellow over the course of the championship. Those white markers were like cat litter boxes for cows!

Flight operations got more difficult to conduct a few days into the event because of low clouds in the morning and thunderstorms in the afternoon. From my observation, Phil couldn’t have kept things rolling any better than he did. If we had weather to fly, there was a plane in the box. Anyone who has served as a contest director knows how difficult it can be with bad weather, but Phil was always in control of the situation and made it look easy. Two key people keeping things rolling were the starter Bill Williamson, and Brian Becker, the box control radio man. Both were cool, calm, and in control. By the second half of the event, everybody had the routine down, which made it easier to turn the flying on and off as the weather dictated. The starting personnel also had their own debrief nightly, which I enjoyed dropping in on. Mike Mays, the technical official, claimed they’re all drinkers with a flying problem. I thought to myself, these are my kind of people!

One thing I had hoped would happen was that spontaneous friendships would develop over the course of an event like this. Our sport is very specialized, and this fact serves as a catalyst for a unique friendship. I knew it was starting to happen when I was passing by the Spanish tent after the day was done, and they presented me with a special fruit drink that makes you want to become a bullfighter. This was followed two days later by the traditional spaghetti dinner served by the Italian and Spanish teams. The Bud Light and sangria flowed that night. These are the times you remember and cherish the most. There are a couple of very interesting T-shirts floating around somewhere because of this party. The bottom line is that the chemistry of the WAC was becoming very correct.

That correctness was amplified when Kermit Weeks hosted a party at the Fantasy of Flight. Kermit wanted to throw a bash in appreciation for all the great years he had being a top dog in aerobatics. He also honored and celebrated his friend Monty Chumley’s 94th birthday. I can’t imagine what people were thinking when they pulled into Fantasy of Flight for the private reception. It was an aviation fantasy for aerobatic people, and the museum was all lit up for us to enjoy. Kermit had us dig up old IAC photos from the archives to be viewed in a constant loop throughout the evening. My wife, Kathy, dug up more than 200 pictures, and Kermit added another 100 or so to keep three movie screens illuminated with IAC past and present members. It evoked a real sense of heritage within our sport. It also elicited a sense of how short and precious life really is. I think IAC folks are fortunate in that they seem to live life to the max, and this evening was very special and spiritual for us all.

Merchandise sales were a big part of the budget for the WAC and I’m happy to say we basically sold out of WAC merchandise. It wouldn’t have been possible without the Sun ‘n Fun’s gift store personnel  Bonnie Perkins, Susan Highley and Laura Vaughn. They were just great! We also had some of our Aerobatics USA merchandise on sale as well, which also did very well.

I was very pleased to see many of our members showing up mid-week in anticipation of attending the 4-Minute Free event. For a lot of them, this was their first look at a real live World Aerobatic Championships, and I think they got caught up in its significance. Many opted to stay for the closing ceremony, and it maxed out our seating limit. I was delighted to see so many people enjoying the moment.
We flew 20 of the top pilots in the 4-Minute, and it was spectacular. The crowd was good, the beer tent was packed, and it was fun watching the true art of stick and rudder up close and personal, especially with family and friends. Everybody was happy; the pilots because the pressure of the championship was over, the volunteers because it was almost over, our membership because they were witnessing
history within their own country, and the general public because the flying was continuous and more like an air show.

Phil and I had to leave right after the 4-Minute to race over to SeaWorld for the closing ceremony rehearsal with Jon Allen. We were to not only walk through the verbal presentation, but to practice my secret
descent onto the stage. They had a harness with what looked like a 1/16-inch trim tab cable on a computerized lift-type system. I’m glad we rehearsed it a bit, because it took me a while to relax about the stretching I was feeling in the cable when my mass settled into that harness. Not to mention that I was cognizant of that stretching as they hoisted me 40 feet above the stage right up into the ceiling rafters! Tinkerbell flight was an option, but we opted for the parachute descent instead. It was more appropriate, especially to me!

SeaWorld is impressive, but being escorted to the private Ports of Call banquet facility and patio terrace is really impressive. It’s a gorgeous setting decorated with tropical plants, flowers, and fountains, with a nice bar set up inside and out. This was vintage Anheuser-Busch, and I was so proud to be able to share this with everyone. As the eight buses arrived from Lakeland, the sights and sounds of our special guests enjoying the moment filled the gardens. SeaWorld trainers came by with a talking tropical parrot and a majestic Clydesdale, which symbolizes the proud heritage within Anheuser- Busch. After a nice dinner in the Ports of Call banquet facility, our group of 500 was escorted to the Nautilus Theatre, which is a large, state-of-theart facility on the other side of the park. Timing of our escort was critical so as to avoid the end of the Shamu show. That stadium holds 10,000 people, and it was packed on this Fourth of July. As our guests were coming into the theater, the Jon Allen production came to life with the big screen showing photographs of the past 10 days. At this time I was hoisted up into the rafters, and a few minutes later the show began. As the award recipients were called to the stage, their picture, country flag, and a short clip of their actual flight was played on the screen. It was very professional and honored the winners in Hollywood fashion.

At the end of the awards presentation, Jon Allen’s crew played a three-minute video presentation that captured the flavor of the event and gave the award ceremony a grand finale finish. It was a good feeling. We then were escorted to our reserved seating to watch the Fourth of July fireworks and laser light show. I can’t thank August and Steven Busch enough for letting us share the magic of Anheuser-Busch with our international friends. It was truly appreciated by all.

I observed a very interesting phenomena starting early on in the championship. Everyone associated with the event, even our foreign visitors, began to feel something great happening. It’s that feeling you get when you work so hard on something and then begin to realize that it’s going well. I think everybody fed off that feeling to try even harder to make it more special. I was so proud of our organization.

I remember the debacle of Oklahoma City, when the IAC subcontracted the operation of the 1996 WAC to a company to limit the club’s financial liability. The problem with that is it also limited our control of the event, which in retrospect hurt our reputation. Boris Baird, contest director of the 1997 AWAC in Lawrence, Kansas, ran a fantastic, friendly championship that helped erase some of the ’96 stigma, but we still heard negative comments about Oklahoma City, and we probably always will. It’s part of our history. Now in the summer of 2003, the 22nd World Aerobatic Championships presented by Bud Light is also a part of history, and all IAC members should feel proud that this time it will be remembered for the right reasons. Many people helped to make this a great event. If I’ve forgotten to mention your name here, know that you have my heartfelt thanks!