The grass got a fresh mowing, sponsors set up dining tents, vendors brought in food trucks, and traffic backed up for miles around. No, this wasn't a county fair. This was the beginning of the first America's Freedom Fest airshow since covid shut them down in 2020. That's a really big airshow, a really big event, and a really big first! And it happened just a few months ago in July. But that wasn't the only first, this year, there were many firsts of July.

As in past years, America's Freedom Fest this year was concurrent with the Rotors 'n Ribs event. The two combined bring a great mix of aviators and aviation enthusiasts. Having two aircraft categories represented also makes for an exciting display both in the air and on the ground.

On top of being the first America's Freedom Fest in two years, this was the first Rotors 'n Ribs event in the same amount of time. This year the event organizers brought out Red Bull aerobatic helicopter pilot Aaron Fitzgerald. Not content to be a guest speaker, Aaron was also one of the main aerobatic acts for the day.

The news has been made public now and been covered by AOPA, among others. Enstrom Helicopters has a new owner. Chuck Surack, founder of Sweetwater Sound, owner of Sweet Helicopters, and a helicopter pilot himself purchased Enstrom Helicopter Corporation through his Surack Enterprises. Mr. Surack originally trained in an Enstrom helicopter and is excited that Enstrom will once again be American owned. Another first of this July was to see Mr. Surack at the Enstrom booth and hear him speak about the acquisition and the promise he sees for the future of the company.

Perhaps it's not the first jet powered biplane, and certainly not the first time this one has been in operation. But for the author and the America's Freedom Fest, this was certainly a first! There was a great excitement in the crowd when RAD Aerosports fired up not only a big radial engine, but also a turbine engine before launching skyward in their superpowered Waco Taperwing. For the pilots in the crowd, there was some serious "wow" factor when the aircraft ran out of airspeed and the turbine was kicked in... and the plane continued to climb after only a moment's hesitation!

When Randy Ball fired up his jet engine, the rumble was fierce. The Mig 17 is one of those airshow acts that you don't just see and hear. The power of the cold war turbojet rumbles in every fiber of the audience as it thunders by on each pass.

No airshow is complete without the ground displays. Static aircraft displays represented many eras, several aircraft classes, and even a few different aircraft categories. Whether new or vintage, single or twin, airplane or helicopter, there was something on display to interest everyone.

Some of the acts in the airshow took some truly unusual attitudes. Motorcycles and riders standing upright at super low speeds started the unusual orientations. But the cap on the show was a helicopter that couldn't stay upright. The guest speaker at the Rotors 'n Ribs seminar took off his cap, put on his helmet, and traded right side up for upside down for the majority of his show.

The airshow acts included some impressive aerial maneuvers by a Super Chipmunk. Ghost Writer honored our independence and our flag both in paint scheme and smoke throughout the performance. Along with the now famous heritage flight alongside a P-51, the A-10 demo team showed off their aircraft's capabilities. With a little help from the crew working the fireworks, it was hard to tell if "demo team" stood for demonstration, or demolition.

As the light started to fade, some of the day acts kept the crowd's attention while waiting on dark to settle in for the fireworks show. Some of the rotor-powered crowd took a truck from midfield under the pretext of clearing the field for the night acts. Unfortunately for the owner of the truck... the cable didn't hold. Ghost Writer took to the skies again at dusk, with lights all over the airframe and fire spewing from the wingtips.

As in years past, the fireworks show at America's Freedom Fest couldn't be beat! Perhaps if you went to a major American city for their heavily sponsored fireworks, you'd be able to see a comparable show. But in a small midwestern country town, a half hour show that never lets up is hard to beat.

A very apropos "photo finish" to the events of the day. With nearly twelve hours of seminars, entertainment, airshow acts, and ground show acts, the first America's Freedom Fest and first Rotors 'n Ribs in two years was well worth the visit! Add to that the first visit from the new Enstrom owner, the first aerobatic helicopter demonstration in these parts, and the first jet powered biplane to visit the airshow. This was indeed a year of many July firsts. If you're interested in getting seconds, there's a good chance the show will return again in 2023. And if you can't make it over to KGSH, maybe you can find your own Waco or Super Chipmunk to recreate the acts on barnstormers.com. Of course, legal disclaimer... you might think twice about trying to recreate the Red Bull inverted helicopter trick!