WESTFIELD—Everything looks so different when you’re a couple thousand feet in the sky. And you’re going 140 miles per hour.
The Geico Skytyper Plane I was in and another fly in close formation over the Pioneer Valley
The Geico Skytypers Air Show Team, a flight squadron based out of Republic Airport in Farmingdale, Long Island, took media members into the skies out of Barnes Regional Airport and over the greater Westfield area yesterday as a sneak peek of what it will be like during the International Air Show this weekend. And while spectators and residents in the area were able to see the World War II-era planes in the air overhead, reporters like me were fortunate enough to be looking downward, only slightly terrified.
The flight was unique and awe-inspiring as these single-engine planes, the SNJ-2s, maneuvered through the air with grace despite their ages of 75 years or older. Rather than the feeling of a slow take-off and gradual turns like what is felt in a commercial flight, these planes seem to be nimble and quick, with a seemingly fast take-off time—it felt like just seconds after taxiing down the runway we were in the air and a few moments of weightlessness overcame me.
The planes appear to be accustomed to this though, since they were used to train pilots during World War II and have since been modified and maintained to perform in air shows across the US. “This aircraft served as the classroom for most of the Allied pilots who flew during World War II,” according to information from the Skytypers’ website on the crafts.
The pilots too, had a number of experiences that lent to the incredible experience. According to Steve Kapur, a member of the team for over a decade, a majority of the team has come from a military background. And going through the biographies of the team, you can see many have several different experiences flying many different aircraft over decades.
Geico Skytyper planes lined up and the crew is heading to get ready
One example includes the pilot who flew the plane I was in, Ken “Ragnar” Johansen. According to Johansen, he has flown with the Skytypers for over a decade, and started flying with the US Navy in 1990. In addition to flying several different aircraft with the Navy, Johansen has also flown commercial aircraft and is “currently a captain for a major airline,” according to the team’s website.
One specialty of the Skytypers and their planes is to “perform a low-level, precision flying demonstration” over 18 minutes for spectators—and occasional passengers—to enjoy, according to their website. This can include flying in close formation “wingtip to wingtip,” according to Brenda Little of BBIG Marketing and the Skytypers media contact, which features soaring “50 to 100 feet from the other planes.”
In addition, the pilots utilize tactics and formations from World War II, Little said, and some of these tactics are still used today.
Also, while our experience didn’t include the airborne lettering feature that the team’s name suggests, they can and will also write in the skies. Little said that the planes will fly at around 9,500 feet for this act and will create letters and some graphics, which she said can have as many as 15 to 20 characters at a time.
A view of Six Flags as seen from the vantage point of the Geico Skytyper overhead
According to the website, the letters are created after a computer program sends a radio signal to the planes. This program indicates a valve to release a paraffin-based solution that goes into the manifold that “is then steam compressed and released through the engine exhaust,” producing letters as large as 1,000 feet tall and visible from as far as 15 miles.
According to Little, the full complement of planes needed for skytyping is five and they have six available. Only four flew during yesterday’s demonstration because two of the planes use the rear passenger compartment for additional fuel storage for typing.
The Geico Skytypers will be performing during the International Air Show at Barnes Regional Airport in Westfield, Aug. 12 and 13.
