Amazing Civilian Aerobatic Performers at Sun 'n Fun 2026 (Part 1)

He sets up for the next maneuver, a long pull back around. Ready, hit it. — All three of the air show industry's highest awards. — Yeah. I'm so happy to present to you Michael Michael — That's our aerobatic champion. Only a few individuals have enjoyed the success that Michael has had in the air show industry, and he feels incredibly

lucky. is at the controls. And this is going to be fun as he pops up into the sky, and he's already rolling the airplane around as he's done for so many years. Inverted down, that's a great shakeout right now. Check it out on the live stream. It's his first look at it here this week. And rolls the airplane over and over, and as you can see, he's very, very happy with the airplane, and that means we're going to have a little chit-chat here in just a moment. Cuz he's going to end this routine with an inverted ribbon cut. He's got the smoke on it. It looks beautiful. Let's just watch and enjoy here for a few minutes. Would not love that, if you know what I mean. I love watching it from the ground. That's a big with a 100 H. Nice to be with the 280 horsepower. And coming out to the end of the dive And into a whiff a deal kind of funny thing. Wow. You're like snapping that thing around. And he's got it for a mostly roll. We can hear him whistling. We hear, of course, the adjustment in the power there. He added a little power and some speed. You're rolling all the way down the line. Nice we got Watch this. Look at show center as Greg is now inverted and is dropped down real low. He's got that ribbon at show center lined up. The pole holders keeping it nice and tight in the wind and uh under he goes and pushes up and around.

And he hit it before he —

— And this is the incredible view Louisiana made it to the East Coast. It's been a long cross country and I love what I do. — Miles and miles of John Deere green. The John Deere 9000 series is highly efficient with an impressive range of 1,200 miles 240 miles per hour. — Now, you may have noticed when the airplane was on the ground that it needs to be parked on the nose. This is due to the engine being mounted behind the main landing gear. With most of the weight of the airplane being from the engine, the aircraft needs the weight of the pilot in the cockpit to keep the nose down. Without that weight, even a light breeze could cause the airplane to tip backward onto the engine. — Kyle Fowler is from Central Alberta, Canada, and grew up around the airshow industry. Kyle Fowler of Team Rocket. — [groaning] [singing and music] — In 2015, Kyle purchased a Long-EZ with the goal of bringing this unique experimental aircraft to the airshow circuit. Kyle holds a commercial multi-engine IFR pilot's license, allowing him to travel from air shows throughout North America. — Kent is loving every second up here, too. What a beautiful day. When the smoke is hanging like this, it's a great day for an air show. Look at you waving. Waving to all the volunteers. Hey Rick, while I got you on the radio, I don't get to talk too much on the radio. So, I want to say a big thank you to all the volunteers Love that airplane. Aw, giving us a wave once again. A huge thank you to everyone that supports him, his wife Miranda, their children, and of course his air show sponsors, Aerosport

Pow- If Jeff Bourgeois flies all the way Pierre, South Dakota Gentleman Jim Pietsch is he flies around the country gentlemanly doing these aerobatics in a Bonanza, yes? Jim Pietsch. — [music and singing] [singing] — Jim is the owner of Leading Aviation, a full-service FBO located in his hometown of Pierre, South Dakota. Leading Aviation provides fuel, charter, air freight, flight instruction, maintenance, and aircraft sales. — [singing] — Graceful and it's fun. He's grinning ear to ear if you could see him. Since his first solo flight over 50 We should point out that the International Council of Air Shows is well represented here this weekend. The president is here. John welcome to have and Danny and the whole team. Uh so nice to have you here at Florida to watch Gentleman Jim fly. Jim has brought to him received the highest honor given to the airshow industry and that is the highest honor of aviation. While watching Jim perform for you today, keep in mind that this is not your ordinary Bonanza. This is a very rare one that was built and certified specifically for aerobatics. I need to give you a wave too. Please give him a wave, Gentleman Jim Pietsch.

Ladies and gentlemen, your aerobatic performer is the master of over 50 different kinds of aircraft. Today he serves as one of the world's last professional sky writer. For his performance in this way of aerobatics, in this classic airshow airplane, I think it's not a good thing to see in the world, especially growing up in an aviation family. With experience flying aircraft ranging from World War I biplanes to corporate business jets, his absolute favorite type of flying is what we're seeing now. As a skywriter and international airshow pilot Chances are he's going to be using his onboard smoke system beginning by injecting a lightweight oil into the exhaust. Each of his skywriting messages can stretch over 12 miles wide at an altitude This super Chipmunk has been highly modified That's how a motor airplane is supposed to propel it short wing Australia turn left and again your safety this time Did you join the International Aerobatic Club? at IAC. aero want to see this guy In addition to flying his low-level performances during the day, Nathan is also one of a handful of pilots who's also authorized to display at night. Under the cover of darkness spectacular explosive and sparkling nighttime performance. Oh, man. — turn flying, night time flying, and skywriting makes them one of the most sought after performers on the air show circuit today. — Nathan Hammond and Ghost Writer Air Shows would like to thank their sponsors to include popular Grove Air Motive, Tempest, Raven Propeller, Aero Flow Performance, Concorde Batteries, Goodyear, Sarasota Avionics, — And as Nathan is climbing up and over, they're getting ready on the ground here to add a little bit to what's going on. Because we have one of the nation's one of the making of the Cannonball Run, which doesn't really exist. Yes, it does. It does today. It does today, and it does in the future, too. Now, if you have the capability, over right across from the Thunderbirds, you will see a car on the runway, and it is getting lined up and ready to go. That is Tango 31 Aeroclub. All right, anything weighs is going to stop down here, you guys. You guys wait past.