AVIATORS SHOW VALLEY HOW TO HOLD WINGDING; 300,000 MARVEL AT FLYING MACHINES.Byline: Brooke Olson Daily News Staff Writer It was the hottest place to be this weekend, and both attendance and temperature made Aviation Expo '98 the Valley event Sunday. Nearly 300,000 people showed up at the Van Nuys Airport Van Nuys Airport (IATA: VNY, ICAO: KVNY, FAA LID: VNY) is a public airport located in Van Nuys, California in the San Fernando Valley, within the Los Angeles city limits. tarmac and indulged in free air shows, rides and a multitude of exhibits. It was the exhibits - located in the cool, expansive areas of the airport hangars - that drew much of the crowd's attention. Inside the hangar, Kristine Shaw giggled nervously as she worked a hang glider hang glider: see glider. through a computer-simulated flight. ``Whoops!'' she cried, as her glider took a nose dive nose dive Noun 1. (of an aircraft) a sudden plunge with the nose pointing downwards 2. Informal a sudden drop: when we fail our self-confidence takes a nose dive Verb . ``This is so cool,'' said the 23-year old Van Nuys resident. ``It's like I'm really flying.'' The Sylmar Hang Gliding hang gliding Sport of flying in unpowered aircraft that are light enough to be carried by the pilot. Takeoff is usually achieved by launching into the air from a cliff or hill. Hang gliders were developed by the pioneers of practical flight. Association and Van Nuys Windsports sponsored the flight simulation, intended to teach would-be gliders the ins and outs ins and outs pl.n. 1. The intricate details of a situation, decision, or process. 2. The windings of a road or path. of flying. ``This simulator is new - we just got it about six months ago, and it's been the best thing for our pilots to practice with,'' said Rome Dodson, director at large for the Hang Gliding Association. Just across the hangar, John Devore clambered into the back of a California Highway Patrol highway patrol n. A state law enforcement organization whose police officers patrol the public highways. car, hands looped together behind his back in mock arrest. ``This is one place I never want to end up,'' he said, smiling. ``My wife would kill me,'' the 35-year old Sylmar resident joked. Across the way, Wings for Greyhounds, a local greyhound rescue group, worked hard to get the animals adopted. Jennifer Milkes knelt before a large brown greyhound and let the dog nuzzle nuz·zle v. nuz·zled, nuz·zling, nuz·zles v.tr. 1. To rub or push against gently with or as if with the nose or snout: stroked and nuzzled the kitten. 2. her face. Sighing, she went through the list of reasons why she could not get a dog. ``I live in an apartment - it just wouldn't be good for the dog,'' she said. The 22-year-old Valley college senior gave the dog one last pat and walked away. ``As soon as I get a house, I'm going to get a greyhound,'' she said. Just outside the hangar, aviation enthusiasts climbed eagerly into another simulator - the stealth bomber rider. In the dark theater, heads bounced back and forth as the chairs sent riders reeling left and right as the large movie screen displayed a stealth bomber fight. ``Whee whee interj. Used to express extreme pleasure or enthusiasm. '' shouted 12-year old Kirsten Levin of Granada Hills. Five minutes later, adults with shaky knees climbed slowly off the ride, cracking jokes about motion sickness motion sickness, waves of nausea and vomiting experienced by some people, resulting from the sudden changes in movement of a vehicle. The ailment is also known as seasickness, car sickness, train sickness, airsickness, and swing sickness. and how rough flying must be for pilots. Darren Thompson, manager of the Iwerks Entertainment Inc.-sponsored simulator, shook his head and smiled. ``It's just entertainment,'' he said. ``Flying isn't as bumpy or shaky as that.'' The 35th annual Van Nuys Airport show drew crowds from around the Southland to view advanced military aircraft, including the once top-secret stealth bomber, as well as aerobatic pilots, parachutists and fighter jets. Organizers of the event called the day a success. ``It went off really well. I'm really pleased with the way everything turned out,'' said Airport Manager Ronald Kochevar. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos PHOTO (1) Although a construction accident rendered him paraplegic paraplegic /para·ple·gic/ (-ple´jik) 1. pertaining to or of the nature of paraplegia. 2. an individual with paraplegia. , Dan Buchanan can soar into the skies in his hang glider, putting on a daredevil demonstration Sunday at the Van Nuys Airport Aviation Expo '98. (2) F-16 pilot Neil Yubich, center, chats with Rachael Emerson and her brother Douglas Emerson, an airman on leave from New Mexico. (3) Air show crowds explore the cavernous, and shady, cargo bay of an Air Force C-141B. John McCoy/Daily News |
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