Performer Brief - Robert Holland

After an almost rainout at Rhode Island, I made a trip up to Westfield, Massachusetts on Sunday (rather than going home and going to Millville, which was cancelled) to check out the Westfield International Airshow.  To say the least, Westfield had a very nice performer lineup and they actually had a better turnout, in regards to the weather.  While things were at the bare minimums on Saturday and Sunday, nearly everyone got a chance to fly, including the Blue Angels.  The military demonstrations got to take to the skies, and with Rhode Island being a total washout on Sunday, they somehow managed to send a C-130J-30 over to Westfield for a demonstration!  Why the Texan II demo never happened is beyond me - but the F-15 demonstration did take place!  I even got to see one performer I've seen in the past, but not in his all-new airplane.

That performer was Robert Holland.  Rob flies an Ultimate II Biplane, which can only be described as an insanely modified biplane that bares no resemblance to any other aerobatic biplane!  In fact, you really can't pick out "oh, that's a Pitts S-2C body and engine cowling" and details like that.  Rob flies a full-energy aerobatic performance and he is one of those low-profile airshow performers who flies an awesome performance that few people get to see.  Rob is based in Nashua, New Hampshire, which is the home for Daniel Webster College - one of the premiere aviation universities in the United States (I did not look at DWC when I applied to schools - I was more interested in Embry Riddle because its in Daytona Beach!) and runs an aerobatic flight school called Aerial Advantage at Boire Field in Nashua.

The first time I saw Rob fly was in Newburgh, NY three years ago.  Rob did not have the Ultimate biplane, but he did have a Pitts.  He has since improved his performance dramatically since then - he now has a surface level aerobatics waiver.  I am really looking forward to seeing Rob fly again in the near future, since he'll be at Lancaster.

Outside of that, Westfield was also my first airshow with a husband and wife announcing team - Bill and Nancy Lowe.  I found Bill to be a lot like a younger Frank Kingston Smith (by voice only) and Nancy seemed to play the role of "reporter", which seemed pretty interesting.  They did a great job, though.  The MA ANG A-10s put on an awesome demonstration, along with the RI ANG C-130J-30.  The RI guys should do more airshows since their Herc demo is one of the best demonstrations out there.

Static Displays at the 2006 Westfield International Airshow

Military Demonstration Teams

• US Navy Blue Angels
  

Tentative Military Demonstrations

• A-10 Thunderbolt II Flybys
  
• C-5 Galaxy Flybys
  
• C-17 Globemaster III Demonstration
  
• C-130 Hercules Demonstration
  
• F-15 Eagle West Coast Demo Team
  
• F-16 Fighting Falcon Flybys
  
• T-6A Texan II West Coast Demo Team
  

Civillian Demonstrations

• Kirby Chambliss
  
• Michael Goulian
  
• Iron Eagles Aerobatic Team
  
• Bob Cipolli
  
• World Parabatic Swoop Team
  
• Saab Performance Driving Team
  
• Shockwave Jet Truck
  
• Under Pressure Jet Truck
  
• Warbird Review
  
• USAF Heritage Flight
  

Participating Organizations

Announcer: Bill and Nancy Lowe

Gates Open: 8:00 AM

Showtime: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM