Dover Open House 101: controlling the sky and land

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Shen-Chia Chu
  • 436th AW Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  An air show requires precise scheduling and intense planning to coordinate the numerous displays and performances that occur both on the ground and in the sky.

"My primary goal is to help ensure the event is safe and secure to make this a fun air show," said Capt. Paul Pawluk, 436th Airlift Wing deputy chief of Wing Plans and Programs and Open House ground boss. "It is a lot of hard work and there is so much planning and logistics that are involved, but it's definitely worth it because we get to let the public see what we do on a daily basis."

The ground boss acts as a project manager, taking care of ground plans and coordinating squadrons to work together for safety, security, food and water, parking and much more.

"I attended an Airshow 101 Course to gain knowledge, receive guidance and tips to plan for this event," said Captain Pawluk. "I learned to plan early and showing appreciation for the volunteers and assisting them with any needs, because they are the moving pieces that come together to make it happen."

Each squadron point of contact uses their expertise for the Open House planning. Without the teamwork of these subject matter experts, this event would not be possible, according to Captain Pawluk.

"This is a huge team effort from Team Dover and the Open House staff has done a wonderful job," said Captain Pawluk.

While the ground boss works to make the open house a safe and fun event, the air boss is responsible for the main attractions, all the aircraft displays and aerial demonstrations.

Capt. Charles Throckmorton, 9th Airlift Squadron chief of training and Open House air boss, handled civilian permits, the amount of fuel and oil requirements, hotel accommodations, scheduling each performance and more.

"We build a show based off of the vision of the wing commander and then select certain groups of performers based off of the theme," said Captain Throckmorton.

The air boss negotiates terms of contracts with performers and schedules flying acts. The show will feature the Air Force Thunderbirds, Air Force Academy Wings of Blue Parachute team, and many other aerial and ground demonstrations.

"We will showcase, for the first time at Dover's Open House, the Air Force Reserve jet car," said Captain Throckmorton. "The car has a 10,000 horsepower jet engine that was originally from a T-2A aircraft mounted in a drag car.

"I enjoy being the air boss because it gives me a rare opportunity to work with unique air planes and other attractions," he said.

As a child, Captain Throckmorton grew up watching airplanes in the sky. Now, he is a pilot and also responsible for organizing the air show. He said he loves flying and wants to build the best performance possible.

"As a child, I always dreamed of flying," said the captain, who had his first flying experience on an old World War II transport called the 'Beech' when he was only eight years old. A Twin Beech will be performing in the air show.

The air boss worked with 18 different performers, coordinating everything from the arrival and departure of the 50 airplanes coming off station to the 27 static displays from the AMC Museum.

For the latest information on the Open House and a list of prohibited items, visit www.dover.af.mil/library/openhouse.asp