This year, Delaware County's annual festival Summer Heat brought in world-renowned air show performances, a unit of the 101st Airborne Division complete with a Blackhawk helicopter, around 35 hot air balloons, a fireworks display and over 20,000 people, Jonna Reece, co-coordinator of Summer Heat, said.
"Our first year, there was a band and five hot air balloons," Reece said. "This is our ten-year anniversary, and it's now a three-day event. It really showcases Delaware County."
The hot air balloons were very impressive this year, Mayor Dan Canan said.
"I've been here every year. Seeing the balloons take off and come in, it's really a once-in-a-year thing," Canan said.
Brownie Dillon has been in charge of the air show every year, and she said her goal is to find different kinds of acts each year.
"I go to the air show convention every year, and that's where I find shows to book," Dillon said. "We like to make sure it's not the same thing every year."
Aerobatic pilots Michael Mancuso and Kirby Chambliss have flown at Summer Heat for the past two years and Matt Chapman did his show this year for the third time.
The three perform their aerobatic flights in shows across the nation and around the world.
Chambliss, 2002 and 2003 U.S. National Aerobatic champion and 2003 captain of the U.S. Aerobatic Team, said he started flying at the age of 17.
"I live for it," Chambliss said. "I practice almost every day. If there's a championship coming up, I practice two or three times."
Chambliss is in the Guiness Book of World Records for flying his plane through a cave in China, and he does a stunt in his shows that no other aerobatic pilots do on a regular basis.
"The cobra is extremely dangerous," Chambliss said.
Chambliss takes off the runway and then hovers his plane vertically a few feet above the ground for several seconds.
"I had to practice it at a high elevation for a long time," Chambliss said. "I've done it enough that I can do it predictably without killing myself."
Mancuso, whose flight display is the official airshow for Indy Racing, soloed his first flight at the age of 13.
"All little boys want to learn how to fly," Mancuso said. "Once you're a little boy flying, all you want to do is tricks."
This year, Mancuso and Chapman each did solo performances, then did a synchronized flight display. Mancuso said they practice the show flying three-to-five feet away from each other.
"We do rollovers where I do barrel rolls over Matt," Mancuso said. "It's really like an illusion."
Chapman, who is also an American Airlines commercial pilot, said the aerobatic stunts in airshows can vary.
"I do all kinds of stunts: loops, cartwheels, rools, upside down, very cool stuff," Chapman said. "It's a lot better than a rollercoaster."
"Those guys make it look fun, but it's a lot of hard work," Dillon said.
The military has always been helpful with contributing aerial demonstrations at Summer Heat, but this year it was fortunate they came since they just returned from Iraq, Dillon said.
Reece said it takes a lot of work and contributions to but on Summer Heat.
"The city of Muncie does a lot for this event," Reece said. "It takes the entire community to put it on."
With over 20,000 people in attendance, the entire community certainly seemed to be supportive of this year's Summer Heat.
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