Air Force Reserve air show acts undergo an extreme makeover

  • Published
  • By Maj. Leslie Pratt
  • Chief, Advertising and Information Systems Division
AIR FORCE RECRUITING SERVICE --  Air shows have come a long way since the barnstorming days of the 1930s . One thing that hasn’t changed is the spellbinding effect the performances have on audiences. 

That’s where we come in. 

Their imagination has been captured by the grace and precision of the maneuvers. While they’re there, we simply offer them an opportunity to touch high-speed hardware by joining the Air Force Reserve. 

The Air Force Reserve Recruiting Service is actively involved in air shows sponsoring two top-shelf performances, the Jet Car and the Bi-Plane. Both have proven enormously successful in creating brand recognition, promoting goodwill in our communities, and in lead generation. But the best is yet to come. This year we introduce the Recruiting Support Vehicle and Pavilion (RSVP) concept. 

Our air show acts have been given a significant makeover since you saw them last, and will make a splash at shows across the nation with a dramatic new presence. The change recruiters will instantly warm up, or cool off in, is the addition of the new RSVP, which will accompany the “Dream Machine” aerobatic bi-plane act. 

The Recruiter Support Vehicle itself is a spacious 50-foot motor coach with a professional office interior rather than a mobile home design. This configuration allows recruiters to meet with prospective applicants in a quiet, comfortable and professional setting. The vehicle includes two meeting areas both with HD televisions for showing recruiting videos. The vehicle provides an air-conditioned area to get out of the sun, relax, and take a break. 

The RSVP will be a serious crowd magnet when fully deployed with its a wnings, creating a covered pavilion. The 7-panel, metal framed awning system is made of a tough reinforced fabric and makes a massive footprint of 400 square feet. The panels can be opened and closed in a variety of configurations depending on weather or traffic flow. The eye-catching panels feature impressive graphics work similar to the art used in our recent series of office posters. Inside the awnings will be several tables for displays and a large HD TV screen with stereo sound playing recruiting videos. 

The air show pilot, Ed Hamill, will spend time at the vehicle signing autographs and talking to people about the Air Force Reserve. Ed’s part-time job is an Air Force Reserve F-16 pilot with the 301st Fighter Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz. The vehicle will be driven and set up by Bob Andersen who’s charter is to make air shows as ‘user-friendly’ to the recruiters as possible. 

If your base isn’t on the bi-plane schedule, it may be on the jet car circuit. The jet car is no stranger to the air show world. Scott Hammack and Bill Braack have been mesmerizing crowds since 1986, the first performing jet car at air shows. Few who have seen the jet car perform will argue that it is one of this planet’s most impressive displays of machine power and speed. The “Smoke-N-Thunder” act isn’t new, but wait until you see the presentation this year. 

The first thing you’ll notice is the new paint scheme on the jet car - complete with a hi-rez photographic ‘wrap’ around the engine cowl of an actual Pratt and Whitney F-100 PW-220 engine, the workhorse power plant of the AFRC fighter fleet. The main body of the car screams high-speed / low-drag, depicting the inner workings of an F-100 compressor spool. 

If the car doesn’t catch your eye, there’s the new 20 X 50 foot awning on the side of the 63-foot 18-wheel tractor trailer used to carry the jet car and support gear. The impressive graphics will turn heads and hypnotize people to swing by for a look at the jet car and to learn more about the Air Force Reserve. The pavilion provides a much more inviting place for people to gather and for recruiters to work in. 

So, if your base shows up on the air show list don’t run and hide - come check it out. The new pavilions are a radical improvement of how we do business at air shows. This ain’t your grandfather’s AFRC air show!