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The F-15 West Coast Demo Team is just one of the seven single aircraft Demonstration Teams assigned to Air Combat Command (ACC). The Team is comprised of one Demo Pilot, nine Maintenance personnel, and four Flight Safety Officers.
The Aircraft themselves are not assigned to the team, but are actual operational fighters from the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The F-15 West Team originated from Holloman AFB, New Mexico, and was moved to Tyndall AFB, Florida, before settling here in the early 1990's. THEY have retained the name "West Coast" as it is their heritage.
The U.S. Air Force's Air Combat Command Single-Ship Demonstration Teams perform precision aerial maneuvers, demonstrating to the public the unique capabilities of the Air Force's high performance aircraft. ACC Single-Ship Demonstration Team members also exhibit the professional qualities the Air Force develops in the people who fly, maintain and support these aircraft.
F-15 West Coast Demo Team Website
With over 3500 hours, Greg's flying background is primarily military flying. Graduating from the US Air Force Academy in 1985, he spent 15 years on active duty but is now a LtCol in the Idaho Air National Guard currently flying A-10's for 190th Fighter Squadron at Boise. In the Spring of 2003 he was activated for a four month deployment to Kuwait and Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and flew 27 sorties during major combat operations, and numerous combat sorties during the build-up. He has also been mission qualified and an instructor pilot in the F-15E and the B-52. His military flying experience also includes flying in the F-16 B & D, F-15 B & D, F-18, T-38, AT-38 & T-37. On the civilian side he is currently flying the P-51 and most of the other Heritage Flight Museum aircraft, as well as his AT-6D "Hog Wild Gunner" and his MH-1521 Broussard. Greg frequently lends the T-6 to the museum for displays and flybys.
Greg is Vice President and Executive Director of the Heritage Flight Museum.
Heritage Flight Museum Website
Greg Poe
Greg started flying planes as a teenager, is a former test pilot and has flown over 100 different planes in his past 32 years as a pilot. He is a world-class aerobatic pilot and performer; FAA certified flight instructor and ICAS aerobatic competency evaluator. He placed 2nd in 1999’s World Freestyle Sport Flying Championship, and 3rd in the 2000 World Aerobatic Federation Championship.
Greg has developed a program called “Elevate Your Life”, a youth outreach program designed to inspire young people to follow their dreams, using aviation as a positive influence. Skydancing to an original musical score, "Attitude is Everything" Greg lets loose a spectacular performance complete with high-volume smoke and extreme energy.
Greg has been featured on ESPN, the Discovery Channel, Modern Marvels, Ripley's Believe It or Not, and Fox Sports. He has also recently completed filming a TV show called "Show Pilot" which will air sometime in 2006.
Greg is a true aerobatic artist, and his performances are highly regarded as some of the best in the airshow industry.
Eddie Andrieni started flying in high school at the age of 16. Today, he is a commercial instrument-rated pilot and possesses an FAA aerobatic ground-level waiver. Eddie has accumulated more than 6,000-hours of flight time in a variety of aircraft. He has flown a P-51 Mustang, Yak 55, Pitts Special and the largest bi-plane in the world, the Russian AN-2.
Eddie is a heavy equipment contractor based in Half Moon Bay, California. His trade may be construction, but his passion is flying. And boy, can this guy fly! "I loved performing in Tacoma last year, the people here are just wonderful," Andrieni said. "I jumped at the chance to come back, this is one of the most beautiful locations for an air show in the country!" Thanks to a sponsorship by the Boeing Company, Andrieni will be flying his "Super Stearman” in the Freedom Fair Airshow, this 4th of July, over Commencement Bay. Eddie has mastered the Stearman performances to perfection. He is only one of a handful of pilots who are capable of extracting such a remarkable performance from the Stearman. During his performance, Eddie will put the "Super Stearman” through over 30 different aerobatic maneuvers. He is the only pilot in the country performing many of these maneuvers in a Stearman.
Andreini is certainly an act that you don't want to miss. You are promised the thrilling sight of a huge biplane performing double loops, torque rolls, double snap rolls and the incomparable Wopcevok, a heart-stopping end over end tumble maneuver.
This air show star will make the difficult look easy and the easy look spectacular!
Flying has been a major part of Bud's life since age nine. Bud joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1956 and earned his wings on a Royal Canadian Air Cadet scholarship and was a member of the Canadian gunnery team that won the NATO competition in three straight years. He returned to Canada and was selected to be the base solo demonstration pilot, leading to a career as an air show pilot. He flew the T-6 at many local air shows while in the RCAF. Bud also flew many years for United Airlines until retiring in 1997. Bud flies a variety of aircraft. Occasionally, you may see him in the Spitfire, or the P-51 Mustang, or racing around the pylons at the Reno air races in a T-6 named "Lickety Split". He raced the famous P-51 Mustang "Miss America" for several years.
Featured performances in his T-6 airplane and a Yak-55 include thrilling maneuvers. While barely off the ground, he does a point roll to inverted and accelerates up to several hundred feet where he commences to fly the most amazing tumbles, flips, and gyrations ever performed in air shows. His Fouga Magister jet is like a symphony of grace as it swoops by trailing three plumes of smoke from the tail and the wings. Difficult aerobatic maneuvers look easy with Bud's son Ross at the stick. Ross also flew with the Canadian Snowbirds, so he can treat you to the most difficult maneuvers ever performed in a jet.
Bud now lives in Bellevue Washington and has six children. Three of them served in the Canadian Armed Forces. Ross and Chris, past Snowbird members, now airline pilots, fly with Bud in aerobatic acts. Debbie is also an airline pilot, and with brother Bob, has also flown with Bud on the show circuit. Air shows and flying are sure a Granley family tradition
Bud Granley Family Airshows Website
Ross Granley comes from a large family of pilots that include grandparents, uncles, parents, cousins, brothers, and sister Deb, and wife, Shari.
He was born in Red Deer, Alberta Canada in 1963, A Royal Canadian Air Force base, where his father was instructing on the Harvard/T-6.
The third of six children, Ross showed an early love of flying and a strong desire to make it his life's ambition.
Ross joined the Canadian Air Force in 1985. He received his wings in 1987, then instructed in the Canadair CT-114 Tutor aircraft in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. This aircraft is still used by the Snowbirds. He earned his A2 Instructor's rating, then was selected to fly as #2 with the Snowbird's 1990 and 1991 team.
After his tour of duty with the Snowbirds he moved on to fighters at Cold Lake, Alberta. He underwent basic and advanced fighter pilot training in the CF-5 and CF-18. He earned top honors in both courses then flew the CF-18 with 416 Tactical Fighter Squadron for three years.
In 1996 Ross was selected as a team member for Canada's participation in the William Tell air combat competition. This included teams from all commands in the US Air Force. Canada swept the competition in nearly all categories including top team.
In 1997 with 3,100 hours military flight time, Ross, his wife Shari and son Gregory, transitioned to life as civilians. They moved to Everett, Washington where Ross lives while working as a Boeing 757/767 co-pilot with United Air Lines, based in SFO.
Ross purchased a Yak-18T in Moscow which he flies in a formation aerobatic routine. The Yak-55, flown by his dad Bud, and the Yak-18T make an unlikely and unbeivably entertaining act.
The dream is almost complete. His son Gregory, 13 years old, is an avid participant in aerobatics and all things aviation. He says that when he's grown up he wants nothing more than to fly formation with "His Dad."
Bud Granley Family Airshows Website
Tim Weber discovered aviation at the age of 13. Having moved to within bicycling distance of Turf Soaring School in Phoenix, Arizona, it wasn't long before Tim was a regular visitor to the airport. By the time Tim was 14 years old he had gone from being the kid looking through the fence to becoming a line-boy, trading work for flying lessons.
Tim's aptitude for flying was evident early on. Within a short time he had soloed in several different types of gliders and had begun exploring aerobatics. Since that time, Tim has flown a variety of aircraft and experienced thousands of hours of aerobatic flying. His aggressive flying and natural ability have enabled him to become one of the top airshow performers in the United States today.
In addition to flying, Tim's passion for music has grown through the years. Tim, a self-taught musician, was playing lead guitar professionally by the age of 17. He has since incorporated his love of music into his airshow routines by writing and performing original songs and instrumentals for his performances. Tim is a popular guest on radio talk shows and is a frequent speaker for groups and school assemblies. He is an Aerobatic Competency Evaluator for the International Council of Airshows as well as a certified aircraft mechanic with A&P and IA ratings.
The aircraft of choice for Tim is the German built Extra 300. The Extra 300 is an unlimited-class composite monoplane stressed to handle even the most demanding maneuvers.
With over 300 horsepower and a roll rate in excess of 340 degrees per second, this aggressive mid-wing aircraft provides the performance and looks to make it an instant crowd pleaser.
Tim has joined forces with GEICO, the fifth-largest private passenger auto insurer in the United States. GEICO has been providing insurance for more than 65 years and insures more than 5.3 million policyholders and 8.3 million vehicles. GEICO keeps their rates low by dealing directly with the customer. More than 10,000 drivers a week switch to GEICO. Watch Tim as he thrills crowds with his style of hard-core aerobatics in the GEICO Extra 300!
Tim Weber's Website
Born December 9, 1958 in Toronto Canada where he lived until the age of 5, until the family of 6 moved to Orange County, California where he grew up surfing and racing motocross. After graduating high school, Doug started working as an apprentice carpenter framing residential homes and apartments. Doug discovered hang gliding from other carpenters in 1977 and became an expert pilot flying in competitions in California, Australia and New Zealand.
He took a demo flight in 1982 in a Cessna 152 and earned his private pilots license 3 months later. After attending the Reno Air Races and watching Leo Loudenslager perform at the airshow, he took a demo ride in a Pitts S2A, thus beginning his journey in aerobatics.
He immediately began building a Pitts S1S, which he test flew on July 7, 1987 at Santa Paula airport. He met his wife Dana in 1978 and was married shortly after. After receiving spin training, Doug entered his first aerobatic competition in 1990 in the sportsman category. 1992 and 1993 were spent in the intermediate category earning a medal in all competitions.
In 1994 Doug moved to the advanced category, winning the California point series. He also did some test flying and demo flights in the DR107 One Design. 1995 and 1996 were spent building and test flying his own One Design. He performed at the French Valley Airshow in 1996. In 1997 Doug competed in the advanced World Aerobatic Championships, as the Canadian Aerobatic Team.
He finished 5th in the Known and 8th in the Freestyle out of 65 competitors from around the world. He went on to win all the advanced competitions that he entered from 1997 through 2000.
In 2000, Dough bought his Sukhoi 26MX and moved to the Unlimited category in 2001. He won the B.F. Goodrich Trophy at the US Nationals.
In 2003, Doug competed again as the Canadian Aerobatic Team at the Unlimited World Aerobatic Championships in Lakeland Florida. 2004; Doug earned his commercial pilots license allowing him to fly in airshows.
Doug resides in Murieta, California with his wife Dana and their 5 children, where he owns and operates a framing company he established in 1982.
Doug Jardine's Website
