Manfred Radius and his "Salto Glider"
 Manfred Radius began his career in flying sailplanes in 1961 at age 17 in Hamburg, Germany. He has logged in excess of 4,000 flights and accumulated over 1,900 hours in at least 60 types of sailplanes.
Manfred immigrated to Canada in 1969 and became a gliding instructor in 1972, adding the glider aerobatic instructor's endorsement in 1977. He is a former member of the Flight Training and Safety Committee of the Soaring Association of Canada.
In 1974 he reached a high point in his career when he achieved an altitude of 35,000 feet above sea level over the Rocky Mountains near Colorado Springs. Flying the same sailplane in which he performs at air shows, Manfred flew a distance of 600 km (375 miles) over the Appalachian Mountains in May of 1986, a flight lasting 8 hours and 45 minutes.
For many years, Radius was the only one in North America who competed in glider aerobatic championships. In 1977, in 1979 and in 1981, he competed in the prestigeous German Glider Aerobatic Championships, and in 1977, received an award as the 'best foreign aerobatic pilot'. In 1985 he competed in the First World Championship in Glider Aerobatics, held in Austria, representing Canada as its leading glider aerobatic pilot.
Manfred Radius is a top professional air show performer who ushered in a new era in sailplane demonstrations. He has the distinction of having introduced world championship-level performances to air shows in North America.
Manfred's award-winning main act The Ultimate contains samples of all aerobatic maneuver families, including unique maneuvers performed by only himself with a glider at air shows in North America.
The grand finale of The Ultimate is the spectacular inverted ribbon cut. Performed by a sailplane without the benefit of engine power, this difficult stunt leaves the audience in awe and amazement.
In addition to his daytime demonstrations, Manfred also performs at night with his sailplane. His spectacular night act has been enjoyed by millions in North America and in Australia.
His extensive background in glider aerobatics and competing in world-class aerobatic championships enables him to demonstrate the capabilities of his fully aerobatic glider to the fullest.
As a result of his hard work at air shows and his never ending quest for excellence, Manfred has earned the reputation of being one of the top performers in North America. In 1989 he was the first recipient of an Excellence in Performance award, presented by the Corn Belt Shrine Club in Mattoon, Illinois.
Manfred Radius has been described as 'Sailplane Superstar' and as 'The King of Sailplane Aerobatics'. Spectator's comments about his performances include superlative terms such as: awe-inspiring - fantastic - mesmerizing - outrageous - heavenly - and 'you made the show'. USAviator wrote in it's January, 1995 issue: He is absolutely incredible; a truly phenomenal presence in the airshow biz. Very highly recommended. In his bestseller The Cannibal Queen, Stephen Coonts writes: ......and we were treated to the most spectacular flying exhibition I have ever witnessed......The silent crowd watched, mesmerized...... His mastery of his craft was total, his exhibition a tour de force.
His skills go far beyond doing a simple air show performance. On Sept.6,1992, he succeeded in doing the world's first inverted ribbon cut by a sailplane over water. He did it during the Canadian International Air Show, held over Lake Ontario across downtown Toronto.
Manfred was featured on television shows such as That's Life, Stuntmasters, Magic in the Air, Skybound and Science of Fun. He was also featured in the books A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE by Daniel V. Dempsey, THE CANNIBAL QUEEN by Stephen Coonts and THE FLYERS by Noah Adams.
He performs from coast to coast in North America and internationally as well. Manfred thrilled large audiences when he performed his daytime and night acts at the Australian International Air Show and Aerospace Expo near Melbourne in 1995, 1997, 1999 and again in 2001.
He joined the International Council of Air Shows (ICAS) in 1978.
An experienced skydiver, he logged over 1,000 jumps in more than 30 years in the sport.
Manfred enjoys spending time with spectators and signing autographs. He appreciates you coming to the show, and lets you know you are the reason he is here. Find out more about Manfred Radius at www.radiusairshows.com. return to top
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Greg Howard and the "Giles" 
Greg knew from the time he was a child that he would fly. He started flying in 1974, doing odd jobs at the airport to pay for flying lessons. He got his private pilot's license and eventually wa sable to afford his own plane - a 1947 Luscombe. He used the Luscombe to commute to work every day the Northwest weather would allow it. Like any commute, it quickly became boring. Tom combat the boredom, Greg started doing basic aerobatics on his way to and from work. He joined the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and the International Aerobatic Club (IAC), hoping to find some like minds and further explore aerobatics and aerobatic aircraft. There he met the local Pitts dealer who just happened to be forming the first Northwest Chapter of the IAC. The first IAC competition in the Northwest was held in 1980. Greg competed there in the Luscombe and has continued his enthusiasm for the sport of aerobatics ever since. In competition, Greg placed 2nd at the Nationals in 1986 (Advanced Category in a Pitts S1S). Since moving to the Unlimited Category, Greg has won over thirty competitions, with a dozen of those in the G200. he has also won the IAC pacific Northwest Championship for the past 5 years. Greg holds an Airframe and Powerplant certificate and currently manages the Avionics shop at Aero Maintenance on Pearson Airfield in Vancouver, Washington. Greg has over 3,000 aerobatic hours logged. Airshows are a bit different type of flying than competitions and he is enjoying sharing his love of the sport with others! G200 Construction: carbon fiber
Wing span: 20 feet
Length: 18.5 feet
Empty weight: 910 lbs.
Engine: Lycoming AEIO 360X
Horsepower: 180+
Never-exceed speed (Vne): 220 kts (253 mph)
Stall speed: 55 kts (64 mph)
Maximum rate of climb: 3500'/min
Roll rate: > 420°/second
G limits: ±10 operational
Aircraft built by Greg and Jennifer Howard. Completed October 1999.
return to top | Matt Groth and the "Decathlon"
 Matt Groth's first flying experience was with his cousin in a Cessna 150 when he was too small to see over the instrument panel. After takeoff he could sense what felt like being supported on a cushion of air, free of the bumps of a road. Ever since then he knew he would like to become a pilot, being free to go wherever.
It wasn't for several years after that he had the resources to get some flying lessons. He received my pilot's license in 1994 after his first year of college at the Lewis University airport (LOT) near Chicago. Shortly after obtaining his certificate he went for a few hours of aerobatic instruction in a Decathlon. It was great as he finally was able to do all the things that he wanted to that are not allowed in the Cessna. A few years went by without much flying until he bought his Decathlon in 2001. He again received a few hours of instruction and have since put on 450 hours in this plane and competed in several competitions. It was the critiquing and pressure of competition flying that gave him the proficiency and confidence to think about flying airshows. In 2006 he earned his Commercial certificate and received his Instrument rating. Early in 2007 he received his Aerobatic Competency card, which is required by pilots to fly most airshows. It allows him to fly down to 500 ft during his performance, but can only be used in waivered airspace. Last year was his first airshow season, and it has been some of the most rewarding and fun flying he has done. return to top
| Bob Finer and the S1T Pitts
 Bob has been flying since 1975. He currently flies the single pilot, twin turbine, Grumman S-2T as an aerial firefighter pilot under contract in California. As an aircraft carrier-qualified Marine Corps jet aviator he has flown low level close air support, forward air control and instructed fellow Naval Aviators in air-to-air combat maneuvering. Bob has won and placed in aerobatic competitions at the regional and national level, flown local air shows and taught aerobatic flying for over twenty years. He has flown 9000 hours without an auto-pilot and holds Instructor ratings for single and multi- engine airplanes and instrument flying. Bob and his wife, Dena, reside in Idaho when not in California during the fire season. Check out a video of some of his ability by clicking here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LOxzIGrPIg
S-1T INFO The airplane Bob is flying at the airshow is a 1986 Stock, Unmodified Pitts S-1T biplane. It has evolved from the original 1947 design of Curtis Pitts and is one of about 40 T-models that were built at the factory in Afton, Wyoming. The “T” is a single-seat version with symmetrical wings, inverted fuel and oil systems and a 200 horsepower AEIO-360 engine turning a constant speed propeller. Bob’s S-1T has an empty weight just over 900 pounds and is certified in the “Experimental” category. return to top
| Just In Time Skydivers
 Just In Time Skydivers started in 1967 on the East Coast. Based out of Lakewood, New Jersey, the team jumped the then-current low-performance round parachutes into air shows and other special events.
Moving to the West Coast in 1970 they now operate out of Lake Elsinore, California and jump state-of-the-art equipment and high-performance ram-air parachutes. Through the years they have jumped into places like Dodger Stadium, Santa Anita Racetrack, the Queen Mary, the Rose Bowl, and the bottom of the Grand Canyon!
The team's latest trip abroad was in August of 2003 when they jumped into the closing ceremonies of the World Aerobatic Championships in Debrasen, Hungary, where they jumped from AN-2s, the old workhorse bi-planes from Russia.
 More recently 20 of them jumped from a DC-3 into the Phoenix 500 Air races where freefall footage of their jumps was played back instantaneously on a 50x50 foot Jumbotron screen.
The team jumps with as many as thirty skydivers. The core group of four is headed by Rich Piccirilli and Lynn Fogleman. The team freefall photographer is Kent Gifford, whose father was one of the aerial photographers on the movie The Gypsy Moths (1969).
return to top | Renny Price in the Sukhoi SU-29  Pilot Renny Price in his Sukhoi SU-29 aerobatic plane thrills spectators with loops, swoops and fly bys.
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