KLRT – FOX16.com

Airmen ready to put on air show

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR — Watching the Air National Guard Aerobatic Team fly upside down and zig-zag across the sky can make your stomach flip.

“When I’m flying for that twelve minutes of unlimited aerobatics, it’s really just task at hand,” said Lt. Col. John Klatt.

Klatt is one of the pilots you’ll see leading the air show this weekend.  He promises it will be spectacular and safe.  

“Have you had any close calls?” I asked.

“You know I really haven’t. I’ve had some mechanical things that made me sit straight up in the airplane and we’ve always had a positive outcome,” Klatt said.

Of course, pilots want to impress spectators with stunts, but that’s not their sole purpose.  Their main goal is to recruit future airmen. 

“The Air National Guard is a first-class organization that allows people to serve and be part of an organization that’s bigger than themselves and be part of a team,” Klatt said.

While the Air National Guard hopes the educational and career benefits will spark interest, just maybe the show will land future airmen.

“It’s called your hometown Air Force because and you live in your hometown and fly the same planes that men and women fly in the active air force,” Klatt said.