ICAS Today Made Possible by Our Newsletter Sponsors
This year's newsletters – both printed and digital -- are made possible through the generous sponsorship support of Team Rocket, the Commemorative Air Force, Tora Tora Tora, and Shannon & Luchs Insurance Agency, Inc.
Written, designed, printed and distributed to help get you where you need to be when you need to be there, the newsletter provides updates and timely reminders about the various convention activities occurring here in Las Vegas this week.
Hoover to Highlight Opening General Session
Sponsored by Jim Peitz Aerosports
The 2011 ICAS Convention kicks off officially this morning with our opening general session at 8:30 a.m. in the Concorde Ballroom. The session will include a stirring live performance by country music recording artist and avid aviator Dwayne O'Brien of his song, "We Remember." The session will also include the first announcement of the 2012 U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds schedule, the 2013 Blue Angels schedule, the 2013 Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds schedule, and the 2012 U.S. Army Golden Knights schedule.
The highlight of our opening general session will be a conversation with air show legend Bob Hoover. As he approaches his 90th birthday next month, Bob will reflect on a remarkable career as one of the world's most well-known and talented aviators. For a full hour this morning, David Hartman, former host of ABC's Good Morning, will interview Bob about his aviation career and his perspective on the evolution of the air show business over the last half-century.
Hoover will also talk about some of the other aviation legends that he has met during his legendary career, including Orville Wright, Eddie Rickenbacker, Charles Lindbergh, Neil Armstrong, and Yuri Gagarin. He will discuss his time as a fighter pilot in World War II, including his capture by the Germans and subsequent escape from a POW camp that included stealing a German Focke-Wulf 190. And he will give us his perspective on Chuck Yeager's historic effort to break the speed of sound and the role the Hoover played in that story.
Take advantage of this unique opportunity to hear from aviation's most well-recognized and beloved elder statesmen. Join us in the Concorde Ballroom at 8:30 this morning.
Today's Schedule Highlights
7:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Morning Coffee Service (Paris Foyer)
Sponsored by Air Boss Inc - George Cline
8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Opening General Session and Announcement of Jet Team Schedules (Concorde Ballroom)
Sponsored by Jim Peitz Aerosports, Inc.
10:30 a.m. - 1:45 p.m. Exhibit Session A (Complimentary Lunch, ICAS Convention Delegates Only)
Exhibit Hall Sponsored by Tim Weber Airshows, Inc.
Exhibit Hall Lunch Sponsored by Michael Wiskus and Lucas Oil Airshows
10:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Registration/Member Services Open (Chablis)
Sponsored by Geico Skytypers
2:00 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. Air Boss Safety Stand-Down (Champagne 2)
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Concurrent Education Session #3
Aeromedical Issues and the Air Show Performer (Champagne 3/4)
Air Show Business Basics: Volunteer Management (Champagne 1)
How to Develop/Implement an Emergency Preparedness Plan for Your Air Show (Concorde B)
New Developments and Useful Insight on Air Show/Air Show Performer Insurance (Burgundy)
Introduction to Economic Impact Analysis (Versailles 3/4)
Putting Social Media to Effective Use for Your Air Show Organization (Versailles 1/2)
U.S.A.F. Thunderbirds Forum (Concorde A)
3:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. Concurrent Education Session #4
Advanced Air Show Economic Impact Analysis (Versailles 3/4)
Air Show Business Basics: Logistics (Champagne 1)
How to Effectively Pre-Position ARFF Equipment at Your Air Show (Concorde B)
Low-Level Awareness: Art and Science of Flying in Air Show Environment (Champagne 3/4)
How Independent Market Research Can Help You Improve Your Air Show Business (Burgundy)
Selling and Servicing Event Sponsorships in a Mid-Size Market: A Case History (Versailles 1/2)
U.S. Navy Blue Angels Forum (Concorde A)
4:15 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Exhibit Session B (ICAS Convention Delegates Only)
Sponsored by Tim Weber Airshows, Inc.
8:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. ICAS Has Talent! (Concorde Ballroom )
Co-sponsored by Air Boss & Consulting International, Inc. and FedEx Express
2012/2013 Jet Team Schedules to be Released This Morning
Planning for the 2012 air show season shifts into high gear later this morning when the performance schedules for the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, U.S. Navy Blue Angels, Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds and U.S. Army Golden Knights are released following the opening keynote presentation by Bob Hoover.
This year, the Thunderbirds and Golden Knights will release their 2012 schedules; the Snowbirds will release their 2012 and 2013 schedules, and the Blue Angels will announce their schedule of performances in the 2013 air show season.
Don't Miss ICAS Has Talent Tonight
Co-sponsored by Air Boss & Consulting International, Inc. and FedEx Express
As you and your colleagues finalize your plans for tonight, be sure to reserve time for the ICAS Has Talent show, organized and conducted by the ICAS Foundation. From 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. tonight, a small group of talented ICAS members will show off their non-aviation talents, all for the benefit of the programs and services run by the good folks at the ICAS Foundation.
Exhibit Hall Opens Today
Exhibit Hall sponsored by Tim Weber Airshows, Inc.
This year's ICAS Convention exhibit hall features 245 exhibitors on 60,000+ square feet of exhibit space. It will also be the center of activity for this year's ICAS Convention.
"Year in and year out, our members tell us that the exhibit floor is the single most important thing about the ICAS Convention," says ICAS President John Cudahy. "The educational sessions and the social events have become important elements of the event, but it is the exhibit hall that defines our convention as THE business meeting of the air show industry. And it is the focal point around which the rest of the ICAS Convention has developed over the last 45 years."
Beginning at 10:30 a.m., the products and services of those exhibitors will take center stage as ICAS offers the first of four exhibit sessions. The 2011 ICAS Convention includes a second session this afternoon from 4:15 to 6:00 p.m. and then one session each on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Get to Know our Air Show Legends
Sponsored by Goulian Aerosports, Team Oracle, David Martin Aerobatics, and Stallion 51
To showcase the impact of past luminaries of the air show community, ICAS and a group of four convention sponsors have launched a new program to institutionalize the ongoing recognition of air show industry leaders, past and present.
"Earlier this year, Michael Goulian made the point that, to a significant extent, the ICAS Convention defines the air show business. This is the only place where our entire industry has a chance to gather, compare notes, and go about the process of improving not just our own individual organizations, but the entire air show business," said ICAS President John Cudahy. "And, from now on, our convention will include regular and appropriate recognition of the people who helped to move the business forward."
Among the first of our Air Show Legend to be recognized this year:
Bill Barber was an air show industry icon in a range of disciplines, including skywriting, deadstick, comedy, car top landing, formation aerobatics, a wingwalking routine, and as a dramatic and engaging announcer. Barber was a world aerobatic team member who, when not performing, flew for Northcentral Airlines. By career's end, he had mastered the Curtiss Falcon, Clipwing Cub Special, Bucker Biplane, Super Pitts Special, and Black Wasp Boeing Stearman called the "Black Baron." After a courageous battle with cancer, Barber passed away in 1987. World Airshow News Magazine presents an annual showmanship award in his honor.
Betty Skelton first soloed in a Taylorcraft at the tender age of 12 and then again officially at age 16. She first started aerobatic flying in a Fairchild PT-19 when a Tampa airport manager suggested she learn a loop and a roll for the local amateur air show. In 1948, Skelton purchased one of the first Pitts Special bi-planes. She was U.S. Female Aerobatic Champion in 1948, 1949 and 1950. Her signature maneuver, the inverted ribbon cut, is still one of the air show industry's most entertaining maneuvers. Following her career as an aerobatic competitor and air show pilot, Skelton become a world famous race car driver. Her original open-cockpit Pitts, Little Stinker, now hangs – inverted – in the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.
Art Scholl was a Ph.D. rocket scientist who began his flying career in an Aeronca Champ. In 1959, he took his first role in movie stunt flying and, during the course of his career, logged over 100 film and television credits. He also logged honors ranging from the Reno Air Races to the U.S. Aerobatic Team. He is known for "dancing" in his DeHavilland Pennzoil Chipmunk, all the while accompanied by canine pal Aileron. Scholl was killed in 1985 while filming a sequence for the movie Top Gun. Subsequently, the air show industry established the Art Scholl Showmanship Award which has since become the industry's leading award for air show performers.
Colonel O.B. Philp, "Father of the Snowbirds," began his career with Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 in Saskatchewan, then flew the Mitchell and Dakota bombers in World War II. Following command of a CF-104 Starfighter group, he organized Canada's centennial aerobatic team, the Golden Centennaires, in 1966. Two commands later, he found himself back in CFB Moosejaw and noticed the Centennaire Tutors still serving as operational trainers. The colonel launched an "unofficial" non-aerobatic team in 1971, practicing after regular flying hours. The group evolved into Canada's world-famous Snowbirds.
ICAS Convention: Not a Spectator Sport
Trust us on this one: to get the most out of the ICAS Convention, it's critically important that you become a participant in it, not just an observer.
By most estimates, you'll get twice as much value, twice as much useful information, and have twice as much fun if you jump right into the deep end and participate in both the give AND take of the event.
"It's certainly possible to come to the convention, listen carefully and get a lot out of the event without ever fully engaging in the dialogue, networking or social events," says ICAS Board Chairman Dan McLaren. "But that's not what conventions are about…especially the ICAS Convention."
In fact, it's an accepted truism among veteran ICAS members that the bar is where most of the work and learning is done at the ICAS Convention. Even if Diet Coke is as close as you get to "the hard stuff," you'll want to make an hour or two in the bar a part of your schedule every day at the ICAS Convention.
Lunch is served!
Sponsored by Michael Wiskus and Lucas Oil Airshows
To help make the first exhibit hall session of this year's ICAS Convention as efficient and productive as possible, ICAS will serve a light lunch on the exhibit hall floor today. Generously sponsored by Michael Wiskus and Lucas Oil Airshows, the exhibit hall lunch helps all of our exhibitors and convention delegates stay focused on the important business of interacting with one another and planning the upcoming air show season.
No Seat Reservations for Lunch, Banquet This Year
In response to comments and requests from members, ICAS will not take individual seat reservations for the Marketing Competition Luncheon tomorrow or and the Chairman's Banquet on Wednesday. Although some tables will be reserved for sponsors, the majority of seats will be available to convention delegates on a first come/first served basis.
Internet Café Available for Delegate Convenience
Sponsored by Flash Fire Jet Trucks
Thanks to the generosity of Flash Fire Jet Trucks, ICAS is once again pleased to offer a multi-station Internet Café to provide 2011 ICAS Convention delegates with convenient, high-speed access to the internet. Located in the busiest area of the convention center, this bank of laptop computers and a laser printer will allow delegates to check e-mail, print documents, and check in virtually with the "home office." Delegates will have access to the Internet Café during working hours throughout the convention.
Space Draw for 2012 Convention is Tomorrow Night
The space draw for organizations interested in reserving their booth(s) for the 2012 ICAS Convention will be held from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. tomorrow night in the Champagne 2 meeting room at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel. If you'd like to get the best booth position possible for next year's convention, make plans to join us tomorrow following the afternoon exhibit session.
Exhibit Floor Solicitation Policy
Selling privileges on the ICAS Convention exhibit hall floor are limited to organizations that have contracted and paid for space assignments. No other persons or organizations will be permitted to sell product or services, solicit contributions, distribute advertising materials, or demonstrate products on the exhibit hall floor. Non-exhibiting personnel observed selling on the exhibit hall floor will be asked to stop such activities. If these non-exhibiting personnel refuse to stop, they will be asked to leave the hall.
ICAS Needs Your Show Dates
Much of the ICAS Convention revolves around the gradual development of the 2012 air show season schedule. For that part of the program to work, we need your involvement. If you're an event organizer, we want to hear from you. Fill out the form in your Convention Program/Proceedings book and turn it in at the Registration Desk. We'll take the information we gather and we'll update the schedule periodically throughout the convention.
Social Event Tickets
Additional individual tickets for social events and meal functions for spouses and guests may be purchased at the Registration Desk. Tickets for the Tuesday afternoon Marketing Awards Luncheon are $50 per person. Tickets for the Wednesday night Chairman's Banquet are $75 per person. Social event tickets may only be purchased by registered convention delegates for their spouses and/or guests.
Convention Sponsors Add Value, Defray Convention Expenses
The organizations providing sponsorship support to this year's ICAS Convention provide assistance to the event in many different ways.
First, they help us improve and expand the convention in ways that we would not have been able to without their support.
Second, they help us "hold the line" on price increases and keep the ICAS Convention as affordable as possible so that as many members as possible may participate. Due in large part to the generosity of our sponsors, the inflation-adjusted cost of convention registration and convention booths at the ICAS Convention has actually GONE DOWN over the last fifteen years.
Thirdly, as leaders within the air show community, their support helps strengthen ICAS and our very important annual convention.
If you get the chance, we hope that you'll stop by and offer your thanks to these sponsors for their commitment to and support of YOUR organization.
This year's ICAS Convention sponsors are:
The Horsemen
Air Boss & Consulting International, Inc.
AirSupport, LLC
Flash Fire Jet Trucks;
FedEx Express
John Klatt Airshows and the Air National Guard
Gary Ward Airshows
Gordon Bowman-Jones
American Aerobatics - Julie Clark's Smokin' T-34 Mentor
Insurance Technologies and Programs, Inc.
Mach 1 Productions
Commemorative Air Force/Tora Tora Tora
Air Boss Inc - George Cline
Shannon & Luchs Insurance Agency, Inc.
Jim Peitz Aerosports
Jacquie 'B' Airshows
Team Rocket
Goulian Aerosports
Team Oracle
Nalls Aviation, Inc.
Stallion 51 Corp.
Geico Skytypers
Rob Holland Ultimate Airshows, LLC
Ace Maker Airshows
Quick Silver P-51 Airshows
Michael Wiskus and Lucas Oil Airshows
Super Dave Airshows
David Martin Aerobatics
Jane Wicker Airshows
Tim Weber Airshows
Aerostars Formation Aerobatic Team
Jan Collmer Airshows/Point Five Video
OnBoard Images
Rob Reider, Air Show Announcer
Lee Production Services/Live Air Show TV
The Patriots Jet Team
Mohr Barnstorming
Herb Gillen Advertising and
Nflight Productions.
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