Scandinavian Airshow making their Australian debut at the Avalon Airshow 2019 under the leadership of their owner and managing director Jacob Holländer. Jacob is flying a Grumman Ag-Cat together with his Wing Walking Team “Catwalk”. The SKYCATS perform an aerobatic wing walking act on “CATWALK”. With the powerful smoke system and wingtip pyrotechnic smoke the air show pilot Jacob Holländer or Sus Jan Hedén a unique wingwalking display. During flight the two SKYCATS are climbing and posing on the wings of the aircraft in different formations like “Lazy Cat”, “Super Cat” etc. while the pilot is making numerous of aerobatic manoeuvres like loops and barrel rolls. The show also offers a pyrotechnic night show & SKYWRITING. The Catwalk is the ultimate air show aircraft and can in the evening transform into a pyrotechnic platform and perform its amazing night pyrotechnic display care of professional pyrotechnician Claes Bonde and his team. The Ag Cat was the first aircraft specifically designed by a major aircraft company for agricultural aviation, and the first aircraft designed according to the regulations of Civil Aeronautics Manual Part 8, which had been written especially for agricultural aircraft. In 1955, Grumman preliminary design engineers Joe Lippert and Arthur Koch proposed the design for a "purpose built" crop dusting airplane as a means of fulfilling a pressing need in the agricultural community as well as the perceived need for Grumman to diversify its product lines. The initial market survey indicated that 100 - 200 of this type could be sold each year. Lippert's initial proposal was made under the project name "Farmair 1000." The first G-164, which was built by Grumman (N74054), was equipped with a Continental W670 Series 6A-16 powerplant. This ship accomplished its maiden flight on May 27, 1957 with Grumman test pilot Hank Kurt at the controls. This initial flight test consisted of three short familiarization hops with the take-off weight set at 3122 lbs, and the c.g. at 31.2%. Flight tests 2 & 3, with test pilot Victor Eble, were accomplished on May 28, 1958 to evaluate the general flight characteristics. A total of 46 test flights were completed by the end of August 1958 with a general finding that this was a well-behaved aircraft with only minor refinements needed before production. When the decision was made to authorize production, Leroy Grumman suggested marketing the aircraft under the name "The Grasshopper." However, Dick Reade suggested "Ag-Cat," following Grumman's naming tradition using the suffix "-Cat" in aircraft names (e.g., F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat). Mr. Grumman agreed and the Grumman G-164 became the "Ag-Cat." Large military orders prevented the production of the Ag-Cat at Grumman's Bethpage facility. Grumman's Board of Directors chose to subcontract the entire program to the Schweizer Aircraft Company of Elmira, New York. Initial production was through a contract between Schweizer Aircraft Corporation, and Grumman. The first Schweizer-built Ag-Cat, bearing registration number N10200 flew on October 17, 1958 under the control of Schweizer test pilot Clyde Cook. Full production began in January 1959 with Schweizer delivering 12 FAA certified airplanes to Grumman by March 1959. The FAA granted type certification on January 20, 1959. The ownership of the Ag-Cat design has changed hands several times. Grumman transferred ownership to its commercial aircraft subsidiary, Grumman American, in 1973. A market feasibility study for a new agricultural aircraft (AgCat X) was completed by Grumman American in 1976. This study indicated that there was a potential market demand for more than 100 aircraft each year. The study also showed that most of the concerns expressed by agricultural aircraft operators were addressed by the AgCat C model. The Grumman American subsidiary, which also owned the Grumman Gulfstream design series, was sold to American Jet Industries in 1978. From initial production through 1981, Schweizer built 2,455 aircraft under contract. In 1981 Schweizer bought the rights to the design and continued production under the name Schweizer Ag-Cat. Schweizer sold the design to Ag-Cat Corp. of Malden, Missouri in 1995. Five model G-164B aircraft were produced, and registered, before Ag-Cat Corp. entered bankruptcy. One additional aircraft, a G-164BT500, is listed in the FAA registry as having been produced by Ag-Cat Corp., however no tail number was issued. This may have been an upgrade to an existing airframe. In February 2001 the design was sold to Allied Ag-Cat Productions Inc. of Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. Allied Ag-Cat are not producing new aircraft although a related company operates a large fleet of Ag-Cats. The basic airframe incorporates many safety innovations, including a pressurized cockpit to keep pesticides out, air conditioning and a fuselage structure that is designed to progressively collapse in the event of a collision. Lippert and Koch were recognized for their innovation in agricultural aircraft, being awarded the Puffer Award by Delta Air Lines in 1974. Floats were approved for the aircraft in the early 1990s in Australia. www.airshow.se || https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_Ag_Cat
Jurgis Kairys (born May 6, 1952 in Krasnoyarsk) is a Lithuanian aerobatic pilot and aeronautical engineer. He has won many awards for his flying and has invented several manoeuvres, including the "Kairys Wheel." He helped develop the Sukhoi Su-26, -29, and -31 aerobatic aircraft, and also has manufactured his own aerobatic aircraft, called the "Juka." His most famous stunt is flying inverted under a pedestrian bridge (height 7 meters) over the Nemunas River wash in Kaunas on September 2, 2000, (nicknamed Ultraflight). He also flew under all bridges over the Neris River in Vilnius on September 18, 1999, (nicknamed Flight of the Century). Jurgis Kairys was born in Krasnoyarsk, on May 6, 1952, where his parents were deported by Soviet authorities. However, the family was able to return to Lithuania when Kairys was still a small boy. His interest in flying started at an early age when watching planes landing and taking off at an airstrip near his home in Lithuania. He became an airframe engineer and was able to start flying aerobatics at the Kaunas Flying Club. His talents and determination were obvious and he soon became a member of the elite national team. The style of acrobatics we see today was developed over twenty years ago by Lithuanians Stepas Artiškevičius and Kairys competing with each other while on the Soviet team, and coaching each other. Today every unlimited pilot flies in the style promoted by the soviet aerobatics society in the 70s. His engineering and piloting skills were recognised when he was asked to work with the Sukhoi Design Bureau to develop the Sukhoi 26, 29 and 31 series of completely new aerobatics aircraft using new ideas future to dominate the Unlimited World Aerobatic Championships. This was achieved with the aircraft winning many championships from the European Championships to the World Grand Prix of Aerobatics piloted by Kairys and the Russian team members. This legacy continues to this date with the Su31 winning again in the 2003 WAC in Lakeland, Florida. Jurgis' forte has always been Unlimited Freestyle aerobatics which has allowed him to develop his quest for new flight possibilities from himself and his aircraft. He recently flew his own creation in the form of the "Juka" aircraft and has since been fine-tuning this aircraft for future displays and competitions. He has invented several aerobatics manoeuvres including the Kairys Wheel, Small Loop and was the first to successfully perform the Pugachev's Cobra manoeuvre in a propeller-driven aircraft. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurgis_Kairys
