US comedy air shows scheduled for Al Ain International Aerobatic Championship

The event is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors who will enjoy a variety of dazzling shows and a very thrilling competition.

Kent Pietsch is one of those professional pilots to take part in Al Ain big event. He said he was honored to be selected to fly the Al Ain Championship in the United Arab Emirates and was looking forward to the experience.

Kent Pietsch received the 2005 Bill Barber Award for Showmanship, and he is an Honorary Canadian Snowbird with the Canadian Forces Snowbird Aerobatic Team. Kent has been lucky to be born into a flying family which his father started in 1948. Kent soloed at age 16 in 1967 and began flying commercially two years later, flying air charter, air ambulance, flight instruction, and aerial spraying.

He started flying air shows in 1974 with his father and brother who flew formation aerobatics with a Starduster and a clipped wing T-Craft.

Kent's routines include a comedy act in which parts of the aircraft fall off including an actual aileron. He also does a dead stick aerobatic routine with the engine shut off and the propeller stopped from 6000 feet above the ground and lands at show center with the prop in the hand of a person. He has added a new act to his show which includes a landing on top of a moving pickup truck.

His Flight ratings include an Airframe & Power plant (A&P) mechanics license, Type ratings in the following aircraft: DC-9, MD-80, Convair A-580, A-320 & A-319 Air Bus, and a TBM Avenger. Kent is also an Aerobatic Competency Evaluator (ACE).