Rare Air: Work in the Stratosphere

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Standing on the bright yellow wings of her souped-up crop duster, wing walker Teresa Stokes has a lofty, and rather singular view of life. Modern -day barnstormers, she and partner Gene Soucy buzz across the country each year showing off their stunts at dozens of exhibitions on the circuit.

“It looks like I’m going to fall all the time, but there’s no danger of that,” says the vivacious Stokes, sporting high-heeled boots and oversized green-rimmed sunglasses with her pilot’s uniform.

This day, Stokes struts her stuff in front of approximately 70,000 people at the second annual Sacramento Capital Air Show at Mather Field. The show, which features about 25 other military and civilian entertainers, saw attendance drop from 100,000 last year. Organizers site graduations and summer travel as the culprits. Last year’s revenue came in at $450,000.

Air shows usually start in late spring and continue into early fall. “There are about 35 weekends per year of air shows, and 25 shows are about the maximum any one pilot would do,” explains John Cudahy, president of the International Council of Air Shows (ICAS), a trade and lobby organization.

The life of an air-show performer is similar to many other entertainers and athletes — constant traveling during the peak season, and families waiting at home.

One thing is sure: No one is here to get rich. When you talk to pilots about how to make it in the air-show business, they all tell you to start with $2 million and quit when you get to $1 million. “This is something you do because it’s your passion,” says Stokes. “I’m up there in the open cockpit with mountains right next to me. I know most people have to sit in commuter traffic.”

Passion is key, but it’s not enough to get a career as an air-show pilot off the ground. When it comes to making a living, a pilot also needs a knack for business, ability to self-market and a sound strategy for meeting a multitude of expenses such as plane maintenance, fuel and, in many cases, support crew.

There are three ways to earn income as a pilot: fees from the show itself, sponsorship or a combination of the two. The big bucks are with sponsors, from tech to automotive. A sponsorship can range from $500,000 to $3 million per year but is also more difficult to find and maintain than air-show fees. “Only a few pilots have 100 percent sponsorship,” says Cudahy, whose organization has 380 air-show pilot members.

Pilot Julie Clark spent a year and a half pursuing her first sponsor, Mopar, the parts division of the former Daimler Chrysler company. “When you have a sponsor, you have to mold yourself to what they want,” says Clark. Since many companies sponsoring pilots have little connection to the aviation industry, it’s often up to pilots to prove they fit into the company brand.

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