A dream come true
By Kelly Nelson
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Air show performer
Maj. John Klatt spent time in KidVenture Saturday signing autographs
and talking to kids about what it is like to fly aerobatics. Photo
by Jason James |
Attendees at EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh Friday watched a man’s dream come true when Maj.
John Klatt taxied his Staudacher S-300D out to the flightline with his
aviation heroes to perform in the daily air show. Klatt, flying for the
Air National Guard’s (ANG) Guarding America, Defending Freedom
Aerobatic team, was about to wow the crowd with his own aerobatic
routine in his first AirVenture performance.
"It was pretty
awesome to taxi out with Sean D. Tucker, and take off with him, and
climb out with him, and look down at Oshkosh, it was incredible,"
he said. "I was nervous; I had a lot of nervous energy to make sure
I did a good job and try to focus."
Klatt has flown C-130
turboprop transport aircraft and the F-16 Fighting Falcon in air support
and combat roles for the 148th Fighter Wing, but when it comes to
aerobatics, his aircraft of choice is a handcrafted red, white, and blue
Staudacher S-300D with a Lycoming AIO-540 330-hp engine.
He was tapped to fly the
Sunday air show at EAA AirVenture 2005, but a morning practice revealed
a tear in the fabric on one of his wings that kept him grounded for the
rest of the day.
"Joe Schumacher was
nice enough to give me an opportunity to fly after waiting a long time,
and I went and practiced in the morning, and the airplane didn’t feel
right," Klatt said. "So when I came back and did the
post-flight I found a big tear in the wing, and so that obviously put
the airplane in an unsafe condition, and we weren’t able to fly for
the rest of the day. That was a bummer."
The aircraft was fixed
that afternoon, and Klatt finished out the 2005 air show season without
any problems. The ANG renewed its sponsorship for the 2006 season, and
his schedule has grown to include 16 shows, six more than last year. He
returned to AirVenture this year as a scheduled performer for the Friday
and Sunday shows.
"This is the best
air show in the world, so it’s kind of a dream come true for
sure," he said. "It was cool."
His air show schedule
takes him across the country promoting recruitment for the ANG and
sharing his love of flying and aerobatics with local kids wherever he
goes.
"There are really some good
opportunities to do something for the communities and try to give
back," he said. "I’m just lucky to fly here, so going to
KidVenture and signing some autographs and talking to the kids is a neat
chance to give back."
