thedrifter
05-17-06, 02:14 PM
Jet to fly over stadium Friday
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Wednesday, May 17, 2006.
By TINA FORDE
Valley Press Business Editor
LANCASTER - That "hooome of the braaave" at the end of the National Anthem on Friday at the JetHawks game will be punctuated by the flyby of a Jet Provost T5, a former Royal Air Force jet trainer owned and flown by Bob Stambovsky.
The pilot has planned his pass over the Clear Channel Stadium carefully.
The airplane cruises at 325 knots, he said. Regulations require a top speed of 250 knots below 10,000 feet. But even that is too fast for a flyby.
"They would just hear a 'whoosh' and they wouldn't see me," Stambovsky said. "I will slow to 180 knots."
That's about 220 miles an hour. He will be flying at 1,000 feet.
"I'll make a pass as directly over the stadium as I can," he said.
He will come in from the north to the south, "sidestepping the radio antennas near Highway 14."
Stambovsky will be at an altitude of 1,300 feet half a mile north of the stadium. At Avenue H, level with the fairgrounds, he said, "I'll lose 300 feet so they can see the airplane coming. They'll see the sun bounce off my airplane."
After he passes the stadium, he will continue on course to Palmdale, where he will land the former RAF trainer near Plant 42. The aircraft will be on display at the Pride of the Nation celebration the evening of Saturday, May 20, Armed Forces Day.
The trainer, built in 1971, has a 37-foot wingspan and a length of 36 feet and is powered by a Rolls Royce Viper 202 turbojet, which produces 2,500 pounds of thrust.
Stambovsky, known as Stambo, owns Stambo Aviation. He is a professional commercial pilot, a retired aerospace flight test engineer and a Vietnam veteran who returned to active duty for Operation Enduring Freedom.
He is moving the aircraft soon from Mojave to Lancaster's Gen. William J. Fox Airfield, "4½ miles from my home."
The Connecticut native also is qualified to fly a MiG-15 jet fighter.
He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in aeronautics and was an adjunct professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
He retired from the U.S. Marine Corps Air Reserve in 2004, spending the last two years on active duty.
"The Marines at Edwards are the finest group of people in the whole world," he said. "It was good for my soul to be with those people."
For details about Stambo Aviation, call (661) 816-5101.
tforde@avpress.com
Ellie
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Wednesday, May 17, 2006.
By TINA FORDE
Valley Press Business Editor
LANCASTER - That "hooome of the braaave" at the end of the National Anthem on Friday at the JetHawks game will be punctuated by the flyby of a Jet Provost T5, a former Royal Air Force jet trainer owned and flown by Bob Stambovsky.
The pilot has planned his pass over the Clear Channel Stadium carefully.
The airplane cruises at 325 knots, he said. Regulations require a top speed of 250 knots below 10,000 feet. But even that is too fast for a flyby.
"They would just hear a 'whoosh' and they wouldn't see me," Stambovsky said. "I will slow to 180 knots."
That's about 220 miles an hour. He will be flying at 1,000 feet.
"I'll make a pass as directly over the stadium as I can," he said.
He will come in from the north to the south, "sidestepping the radio antennas near Highway 14."
Stambovsky will be at an altitude of 1,300 feet half a mile north of the stadium. At Avenue H, level with the fairgrounds, he said, "I'll lose 300 feet so they can see the airplane coming. They'll see the sun bounce off my airplane."
After he passes the stadium, he will continue on course to Palmdale, where he will land the former RAF trainer near Plant 42. The aircraft will be on display at the Pride of the Nation celebration the evening of Saturday, May 20, Armed Forces Day.
The trainer, built in 1971, has a 37-foot wingspan and a length of 36 feet and is powered by a Rolls Royce Viper 202 turbojet, which produces 2,500 pounds of thrust.
Stambovsky, known as Stambo, owns Stambo Aviation. He is a professional commercial pilot, a retired aerospace flight test engineer and a Vietnam veteran who returned to active duty for Operation Enduring Freedom.
He is moving the aircraft soon from Mojave to Lancaster's Gen. William J. Fox Airfield, "4½ miles from my home."
The Connecticut native also is qualified to fly a MiG-15 jet fighter.
He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in aeronautics and was an adjunct professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
He retired from the U.S. Marine Corps Air Reserve in 2004, spending the last two years on active duty.
"The Marines at Edwards are the finest group of people in the whole world," he said. "It was good for my soul to be with those people."
For details about Stambo Aviation, call (661) 816-5101.
tforde@avpress.com
Ellie