Rick Harris got a last minute call to drop what he was doing in Houston, and head north on Interstate 45. Bob Collings and most of his foundation staff were snowed in during the weekend blizzard, and someone would have to run the booth at ICAS. Rick was the man. The good news was, the display and brochures had all been shipped days earlier, and the booth was ready for set-up. So, after a couple of days of catching his breath, he was all smiles and handshakes when we stopped by for sit-rep on where things now fly for the folks from Stowe, Mass. “There’s plenty of good news for the 2004 season”, Harris says, The Corsair is up, and at American Aero in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, in flight test.” Earlier this year, a malfunctioning landing gear meant a bel

Commemorative Air Force Director Bob Rice was pitching his organizations aircraft for three straight days in the ICAS trade show, all the time getting plaudits and congratulated for having the guts to call a safety stand-down for the entire fleet this fall, following the loss of two CAF aircraft. It had been a challenge. “The Flight Safety Review was very well received throughout the CAF” he told ANN. “The members understand the need. Already, about 75 percent of the flight crews have completed the review, which included going through the regulations, and doing risk assessment.”

The big announcement at ICAS was all about national sponsorship for all kinds of aviation events. Only problem was… the lawyers said “hold off on naming names” so the impact was not as spectacular as it could and should have been. ICAS Marketing Director Deb Mitchell (pictured below) has been working on this project for months, and she told ANN that it will signal a “defining moment” and a “major shift” in how airshows do business, and it will impact everyone, from performers to promoters, to the volunteers who make so many airshows happen. “We’re talking about major national sponsors…name brands, Fortune 500 companies” she said…”this will move the industry forward and it will become more of a bu