At top, F/A-18 Hornet aircraft with the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, perform in El Centro, Calif., on Feb. 26, 2021. Bottom left, an Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron F-22 Raptor aircraft banks as part of a Thunderbirds performance at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., in May 2023. Bottom right, An F-35B Lightning II banks as part of a demonstration at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C., on April 23, 2023. (Defense Department)
(Tribune News Service) — Tim Fitzgerald spent more than 30 years making sure the skies were safe for the traveling public.
When he decided to retire from his career at the Federal Aviation Administration, Fitzgerald still wanted to look up.
Fitzgerald became an air boss, or the central operations and safety offer at air shows. They’re responsible for making sure planes are positioned correctly on the runways and in the air.
Fitzgerald will be the air boss of the 2023 Garmin KC Air Show, which will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the New Century Air Center, 1 New Century Parkway, Gardner.
Among the participants this year are the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, the U.S. Air Force F-22 Demonstration and Heritage Flight Team, and the U.S. Marines Corps F-35B Lightning II. This is one of only two air shows in the country with all three performing.
Civilian performers this year include the Red Bull Airforce, Randy Ball’s MiG-17, Vampire Airshows, Franklin’s Flying Circus, Kyle Fowler with Go EZ Aerobatics, Tom Larkin - Mini Jet and the KC Flight Formation Team.
Fitzgerald became an air traffic controller in 1985.
“It is a career I greatly enjoyed,” he said. And it led him to volunteering at air shows until he retired from the FAA in 2019.
“I knew I wanted to stay active in the challenges brought on by airshows,” Fitzgerald said.
He attended air boss training through the International Council of Airshows and became certified the year he retired.
Fitzgerald said he felt ready for his air boss duties.
“I believe my history as an air traffic controller was great preparation for the role,” Fitzgerald said. “It afforded me the opportunity to speak the language and know how to separate aircraft in a three-dimensional environment.”
He’s been involved as air boss for shows that have ranged from a single act up to the famous EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.
“Many of the performers are the same as you travel around the various events,” Fitzgerald said. “It is an advantage because you learn their timing and often become friends.”
Fitzgerald said there is a lot to enjoy about his job.
“Putting all the puzzle pieces together: To me that is an analogy of how you fit all the regulations, aircraft, performers, producers, airspace and several other pieces together,” he said. “The challenge is to create a safe event that is also entertaining, encompassing all of the varied elements that make up the list of performers.”
Of course, his job really has one thing at the forefront. Safety.
“That is the number one priority at any event that we attend, both among the air boss, the FAA, the producer and the performers,” he said. “It is paramount that we have safety briefings, prepare for any possible issues that may unexpectedly appear and ensure everyone is on the same page.”
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