For Columbia Cup airshow pilots, crazy is a matter of perspective

When Buck Roetman maneuvers his biplane through a series of twists, turns and loops above the Columbia Cup racecourse this weekend, he’ll have an unusual take on the action below.

The hydroplane drivers speeding across the surface of the Columbia River must be a bit crazy, in his view.

“200 miles an hour on the water?” he asked during a reception for the 2017 Over the River Airshow pilots Thursday at Bergstrom Aircraft in Pasco. “I’d rather be above it. It’s safer.”

It should be noted that Roetman, an Atlanta-based pilot, will be flying a modified Pitts biplane just feet above the water’s surface. Upside down.

Such is the devil-may-care attitude of the men who will fly the thrilling aeronautic stunts that wow crowds during breaks between morning and afternoon heats of the Columbia Cup.

Spectators will have multiple opportunities to see Roetman and the other performers — including a pair of Air Force F-22 Raptors on loan from Nellis Air Force Base — tumbling and twirling above the race course.

The fun starts Friday with an 11:30 a.m. rehearsal to familiarize the pilots with the race course. They will give formal performances at 11:30 a.m. Saturday and again on Sunday. Fans can meet the pilots in person during an autograph session at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Columbia Park stage.

For the Above the River program, pilots perform in a narrow box bordered by the Pasco and Kennewick shorelines, Hayden Island and the blue bridge. It extends to 10,000 feet elevation and is off limits to commercial and other air traffic during performances.

The box is confined, but large enough to give the different aircraft room to show their capabilities. For the biplane, that’s rollercoaster-style stunts.

For the F-22s, it’s hairpin turns and knife-edge positioning.

The airshow culminates a year of work for organizers, said Matt Boehnke, the airshow’s director.

Boehnke is better known to the community as a member of the Kennewick City Council, but he has spent the past four years lending his military background to assemble the many facets of the event. Planning begins almost as soon as Water Follies ends, when organizers develop a budget and secure sponsors.

HAPO Community Credit Union is the airshow’s title sponsor. Boehnke scouts acts at the International Conference of Air Shows and spends the spring negotiating contracts to bring performers such as Roetman to town. He pitches Over the River to the U.S. military as well, in the hope of landing one of the many demonstration teams it sponsors.

His strategy of asking for everything the military has to offer paid off this year, when it agreed to send the F-22 demonstration team.

The F-22 is a $150-plus million fighter that serves a double mission as a public relations tool to support recruitment.

To that end, the two visiting fighters paused Thursday to provide a dramatic backdrop to a special swearing-in ceremony for about a dozen new Tri-City recruits. One of the pilots administered the service oath while proud families watched, said Malin Bergstrom, whose aviation firm served as host for the Over the River visitors.

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This story was originally published July 27, 2017 at 6:09 PM with the headline "For Columbia Cup airshow pilots, crazy is a matter of perspective."