Going back in time -- some 20 years ago....

2008-02-27T13:54:00.000-08:00

Since the beginning of time, Man has always been fascinated with flight. To support that theory, last year, more than 18 million people attended three hundreda and seventy-seven airshows. This all-American pastime of going to aviation events has made airshows the second largest live spectator sport in the United States. This standing has only been surpassed by baseball which still ranks as number one.

Last year, Oshkosh, Wisconsin -- home of the world's largest aviation fly-in, drew a crowd of over 800,000 visitors. This annual convention is hosted by the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) and extends through an 8-day period the week in August. All types of aircrafts are on display as well as a multitude of airshow performances taking place each day. Oshkosh is only one example of crowd appeal for airshow performances. Segments of this year's annual Dayton, Ohio Airshow and Trade Fair were televised on a one hour special national TV show. It has been estimated that over six million peoplesaw the televised special.

Airshow performances have become big business. With the continual growth of airshows in America, ICAS (Internationa Council of Air Shows) was formed. The primary function of ICAS is to bring together airshow performers and sponsors with the idea of promoting and improving the business. ICAS produces a quarterly journal called ICAS News, which is a forum for both airshow performers and sponsors to advertise and keep abreast of the airshow business. Once a year, ICAS sponsors a three day convention in Las Vegas. This year, 140 exhibition booths were sold out to performers and sponsors. Seminars covering all aspects of the airshow business were conducted throughout the convention. Some of the more noteworthy performer sponsors in attendance was Adolf Coors Co., Holiday Inn of America and Ray Ban Gold. Since 95% of the airshows are sponsored by charitable organizations, performing sponsors are more likely to be the non-Indy/Nascar types.

Spectator safety has always been foremost in the United States' airshow circuit. Since Congress enacted the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) in 1958, there has never been an airshow spectator fatality in the U.S.A. This safety record came about due to the strict regulations placed on airshow sponsors and airshow performers by the FAA. Airshow sponsors must submit detailed layouts and satisfy countless other spectator safety measures before the FAA will sanction an airshow. Airshow performers must demonstrate their low level aerobatics and have their aircraft inspected before the FAA will issue a waiver for airshow exhibition. There must be an FAA Monitor present at every airshow performance to ensure that all of the regulations are followed and safety measures taken. The excellent safety record of American airshows is one of the reasons that this even has grown to its present size.

In 1976, William "Bill" Kientz, a TWA First Officer on special assignment to Saudi Air Lines, saw an opportunity to recover and restore a rare airplane. This airplane was a 1953 vintage T-35A Buckaroo Trainer. The T-35s saw service as primary trainers at the Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) Airbase and had long since been retired to the far corner of the airport.

A request was made to HRH Prince Sultan bin Abdul-aziz, then Minister of Defense and Aviation, to donate the aircraft to the Swift Museum in the United States. Since only 13 airplanes ever saw service, three for the USAF (United States Air Force) and 10 armed versions for the RSAF (Royal Saudi Air Force), Prince Sultan was promised that the airplane would be restored to its orginal configuration and RSAF markings.

After many months of working out the details with the RSAF, HRH Prince Sultan agreed to donate two airplanes and all the spare parts that were at the Jeddah Airbase. On April 22, 1977, the airplanes and parts were transported via RSAF C-130 to the United States.

Below are the photos from the packing prep to its way to the Swift Museum in Athens, Tennessee.

About William "Bill" Kientz

2008-02-26T02:30:00.000-08:00

Captain William Henry Kientz came from a family of dirt farmers where he learned, not only the basics that formed the foundation of his mechanical skills fixing farm equipments for his father, he also had to learned to patiently grin and bear the nuances and the art of public relations with six other siblings, then later on, negotiating with the buyers of his produce.

He graduated from Manhattan High in 1961, then took a semester of engineering at Kansas State University before joining the military where he learned how to be a mechanic, specializing in learned radio and navigation equipments while on active duty.

He was working for A T &T for nearly a year when he heard that there was an opening for avionics at TWA. Even though it meant a drop of 60% from his then salary, he rejected an offer of a higher position at his work to apply and accepted the position at TWA. He wet his feet for three years as an avionics engineer before he was able to move up to the “flight deck” (as it was then called) as a pilot/flight engineer. Even though he was already a qualified pilot, he filled up the rest of his time taking up different courses in junior college to earn more credits. These credits later on translated to his move up to become a captain for TWA which he held for 35 years.

Due to the economy going down at the time, TWA later shut down and was bought by American Airlines where he kept his captain status intact before being forced to retire at the age of 60, from flying commercial airlines, that is.

Truth is, he hasn't really retired from flying nor helping fixed someone else's airplane. He has three FAA certification -- ATP (Airline Transport Pilot) rating, Flight Engineer Turbo-jet rating, and A&P (Airframe and Power Plant) certificate with inspection authorization. He also have an FCC (Federal Communications Commission) license or general radio with a radar endorsement license.

He has also continually maintained and fly two working vintage airplanes, a Swift and a Luscombe. Another airplane is on the way to completion: his very own Buckaroo T35A which is the fighter version of the Swift.

Throughout the years, he had helped many of his friends and associates put together their own airplanes. The most significant he had helped put together to its original flying state is the Buckaroo T35A, a trainer/fighter plane he had spent a lot of energy searching for and successfully negotiated its return here to the United States from Saudi Arabia. This plane is currently on display in the Swift Museum at Athens, Tennessee.