AIR FESTIVAL STARTS TONIGHT AT CAPE REGIONAL AIRPORT

A balloon launch and big band dance will kick off the festivities this evening for the 1998 Cape Girardeau Regional Air Festival.

The three-day air festival, held at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, ends Sunday. Advance tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for children 7 to 12. Children 6 and under are admitted free. Admission at the gate is $6 for adults and $3 for children.

Tonight's schedule includes a little bit of everything for aviation buffs and music lovers.

Starting at 6 p.m. today, approximately 15 hot-air balloons will be launched.

The USO Hangar Dance featuring the big band sounds of Jerry Ford and his orchestra begins at 7 p.m. at Lipps Hangar.

Also tonight, Jack Ekl will perform a twilight show in his French Fouga C-170 Jet, a twin-engine tactical fighter/trainer jet.

Bob Davis will perform a night pyrotechnic aerobatics show in his Russian Sukhoi SU-29, considered the finest aerobatics aircraft in the world.

The Dodge Ram Jet, a 1998 Dodge Ram pickup powered by a jet engine, will also be on exhibit tonight.

And the hot-air balloons will hold a balloon glow on their return.

Throughout the festival, a number of military and civilian pilots will demonstrate their aviation skills.

On Saturday and Sunday mornings, a fleet of vintage military aircraft will stage a Warbird Dawn Patrol through the early morning skies.

The Warbird fleet will also perform again during the afternoon on both days.

"It's going to be fun. We're going to do some nostalgia with the World War II stuff, and hopefully throw a few surprises at everybody," said Bruce Loy, airport manager.

Also Saturday and Sunday, Suzanne Asbury-Oliver will pilot the Pepsi Skywriter, a 1929 Travel Air D4D open cockpit biplane.

The aircraft was one of the original fleet of 14 used by Pepsi Cola from the 1930s through the 1950s. It was brought out of retirement in 1973, and has been flying ever since.

Asbury-Oliver has been flying the plane since 1980.

Skywriting takes skill and planning, she said.

"One thing that people don't realize is that I write the mirror image of what they see," Asbury-Oliver said. "I'm on top of the Earth. My audience is below me. I put the message on a piece of paper and flip the paper over and figure out the timing and headings and the different rates of turn."

The letters in Asbury-Oliver's messages are almost a mile high. "`Air show' will stretch almost 10 miles across the sky," she said.

Paul Stroder calls the Dodge Ram Jet "just your average 1998 Dodge Ram with a 7,200-horsepower Pratt and Whitney jet engine in it. It's the true magnum option Dodge offers."

The truck weighs 2,300 pounds -- not much for a vehicle, but "kind of heavy" for a jet, said Stroder of Speed for Hire Inc. of Big Bend, Wisc.

The Ram Jet's top speed is about 330 mph. The vehicle is a lot of fun to drive, Stroder said, but it takes lots of room to run, and especially to stop.

"It's not too well-suited to highway driving," he jokes.

Wayne Handley will be piloting The Raven, a one-of-a-kind model plane made of composite material.

A former crop duster and Navy fighter pilot, Handley combines crop-dusting maneuvers and traditional aerobatics for what he calls "agrobatics."

Also scheduled to perform throughout the weekend are Don Johnson and the Toyota Corolla Airsports Act and Kathy Ekl and the American Decathlon.

Jim Turecek will demonstrate the Navy F-18, and fly-bys are scheduled for EAA and homebuilt aircraft. The Air Force F-117 Stealth fighter will also do a demonstration.

Cape Girardeau Regional Air Festival Schedule of Events

Friday, July 10

6 to 6:30 p.m. Evening balloon launch

7 to 11 p.m. -- USO Hangar Dance and Night Show

-- Tethered balloon rides

-- Twilight Show, Jack Ekl

-- Night Show, Bob Davis

-- Balloon Glow

-- Dodge Ram Jet Night Burn

Saturday, July 11

6 to 9 a.m. -- Morning balloon launch

-- Warbird Dawn Patrol

9 a.m. Main gates open

9 a.m. to noon -- Helicopter and plane rides

-- Warbird Fly-by

-- Pepsi Skywriter

-- Homebuilt/EAA/Twin Star/Other fly-bys

noon to 4 p.m. -- Opening ceremonies/National Anthem

-- American Decathlon, Kathy Ekl

-- French Fouga jet, Jack Ekl

-- The Raven, Wayne Handley

-- Warbird Fly-by

-- Navy F-18 fighter demonstration, Jim Turecek

-- Russian SU-29, Bob Davis

-- Dodge Ram Jet

-- Comedy routine, "Proppo and Struts"

-- Air Force F-117 Stealth fighter demonstration

-- Toyota Airsports, Don Johnson

-- Dual Act with Fouga and SU-29

-- Dodge Ram Jet Race with Wayne, Bob and Don

4 to 7 p.m. -- Helicopter and plane rides

-- Evening balloon rides

7 p.m. Main gates closed

Sunday, July 12

6 to 9 a.m. -- Morning balloon launch

-- Warbird Dawn Patrol

9 a.m. Main gates open

9 a.m. to noon -- Helicopter and plane rides

-- Warbird Fly-by

-- Pepsi Skywriter

-- Homebuilt/EAA/Twin Star/Other fly-bys

noon to 4 p.m. -- Opening ceremonies/National Anthem

-- American Decathlon, Kathy Ekl

-- French Fouga jet, Jack Ekl

-- Toyota Airsports, Don Johnson

-- Warbird Fly-by

-- Navy F-18 fighter demonstration, Jim Turecek

-- Russian SU-29, Bob Davis

-- Dodge Ram Jet

-- "Proppo and Struts" comedy routine

-- Air Force F-117 Stealth fighter demonstration

-- The Raven, Wayne Handley

-- Dual Act with Fouga and SU-29

-- Dodge Ram Jet Race with Wayne, Bob and Don

4 to 7 p.m. -- Helicopter and plane rides

-- Evening balloon launch

7 p.m. Main gates closed