By Donald Wittkowski
Pilot Scott Francis and his high-performance aerobatic plane defied the laws of gravity Sunday, proving that what goes up doesn’t necessarily have to come down.
At one point, Francis made his amazingly nimble MXS aircraft hang motionless in midair for several seconds, hovering above the ocean as the crowds at the Ocean City Aerobatic Air Show peered into the sky in disbelief.
“You kind of turn it into a helicopter,” Francis explained of what he does with his plane.
Francis and other pilots who performed at the nearly two-hour air show also treated the spectators to an assortment of death-defying rolls, loops and head-on passes just hundreds of feet above the ocean.
The 50-year-old Francis, of Manassas, Va., drew gasps from the crowd when he allowed his plane to stall in midair – hanging there as if attached to a giant, invisible string – before executing a series of spins that seemingly looked as though he was out of control.
“Put the power back on, Scott. Thank you,” the air show announcer said while narrating Francis’ maneuvers.
Almost on cue, the plane’s engine roared back to life. Then Francis swooped down at high speed, coming perilously close to the ocean, before he soared back into the sky in a big, arching loop.
The breathtaking aerial choreography Sunday by Francis and the other performers thrilled tens of thousands of spectators who lined the beaches and Boardwalk for the air show, one of Ocean City’s most popular annual events.
City spokesman Doug Bergen estimated the crowd at 50,000. The air show is one of the centerpieces of Ocean City’s lineup of family-friendly fall events to continue attracting tourists to town after the peak summer beach season is over.
“Certainly, September’s nice weather is an attraction all by itself. But the air show is also a big draw,” Bergen said. “September at the shore is a not-so-well-kept secret.”
The air show weekend kicked off Saturday with a festival of family-oriented attractions at the Ocean City Airport. One highlight during the festival was a patriotic-themed skydiving display by Team Fastrax.
Later Saturday, the Team Fastrax skydivers illuminated the dark sky with pyrotechnics and neon-like outfits in a spectacular nighttime jump over the Boardwalk that culminated with a landing on the beach.
Team Fastrax had planned to perform another beach jump at 1 p.m. Sunday to open up the air show, but some last-minute cloud cover greatly diminished the visibility and forced the skydivers to cancel.
“Mother Nature does this to us sometimes. We hate it,” lamented Cheryl Compton, a ground safety specialist for Team Fastrax. “We’re definitely disappointed. What skydiver wouldn’t want to land on the beach?”
The skies later cleared enough for the air show pilots. While the performers were soaring overhead, the spectators were soaking up the action from viewing spots on the beaches and Boardwalk between Sixth and 14th streets.
Carol and Jim Baron, air show regulars from Langhorne, Pa., staked out a prime location on the 11th Street beach in the heart of the air show’s fly zone. The Barons, who also have a summer condo in Ocean City, arrived at 9:30 a.m. to grab their choice seats.
They came prepared, bringing a beach umbrella, chairs, sunscreen and cold beverages.
“We’re also a short walk from the pizza,” Jim Baron noted with a laugh.
The Barons were accompanied by their son, Steve Baron, of Warminster, Pa., and their grandson, Casey, 2, and granddaughter, Eliza, 5 months old.
“Our grandson loves airplanes, so we thought this would be a fun thing to so,” Carol Baron said.
“The show is great,” Jim Baron added. “It’s a wonderful atmosphere.”
