Bob Violett received a lot of assistance from Tim Redelman, and Mitch Weiss to keep the six factory demo jets airborne. We enjoyed 3 days of great weather and even flew in some light rain showers on Friday.
All of the equipment worked well, including the first flight on the Pegasus powered Blue Angel Phantom II. This medium size event (75 pilots) serves as a great warm up for the BVM effort at the big event, Florida Jets 2000, because it is close to home and offers a decent size runway to operate the big jets, i.e. the Rafale and F-4.
The photo sequence below shows some BVM customers enjoying their sport. The Michelob Light Bandit by father/son team Vern and Larry Kramer represents the best in modeling craftsmanship - photos on the web just can't do it justice - so come see it up close at "Florida Jets".

The rear view of a Phantom really emphasizes its rakish lines. Both the air show Blue Angel scheme and the war paint of the "Jolly Roger" look good on the F-4.

The RAM team was on site to service their customers and do a lot of flying themselves. This BVM Rafale powered by (2) RAM 750's is their latest demo model; it's very colorful and visible in the sky. Four prototype RAM 1000 engines were in operation at J.O.D. Rei and Albert have also been logging lots of flights at home in various models to be sure the engine is right for production. They will be available by Florida Jets time.

BVM's General Manager poses with the Blue Angel F-4. When you call BVM, you talk to real people like Patty Generali during business operating hours of 9-12am and 1-5 pm, east coast time. Orders are also accepted by fax and some accessory items are available through this site. Technical assistance is handled by Dave Valdez & Bob Violett. All questions about any BVM product will be answered.

The Mercury powered Bandit performed flawlessly at its first outing in Deland. With all of the work in this exemplatory model, some would shy away from flying it - not Larry, he really put it to the test with high speed, high "G" aerobatics. Its not just flashy, colorful paint and perfect clear coat that makes this model stand out. It is the absolute perfection of the fits of the mating surfaces that reveals the exalted level of craftsmanship that Vern and Larry's Bandit represents. Of course, the exquisite markings are by ProMark. The Mich-Lite won the BEST SPORT JET award. For more detailed photo's of Larry's Bandit, click here.

Tommy Wood added more external stores to his already famous "Jolly Roger" Phantom to capture two awards at J.O.D., "Best Scale Jet" and "Best Scale Flight". He flew the model with all 3 tanks and (4) AIM 9 missles slung under the wings. A RAM 1000 provided more than enough power to make this 26.5 Lb (with stores) plus 7 Lbs of fuel climb out most impressively. With all of this stuff hanging under the wings, one has to adjust for an increase in fuel consumption - drag must be overcome with thrust. The RAM engine's fuel efficiency still allowed comfortable 7-minute flights - more than is required for "Top Gun" competition.

David Matthews came all the way from across the pond. David resides in Ireland and received the longest distance award. Just to show you how quickly you can fly your balsa Bandit, David had received his balsa Bandit only 1-1/2 months before this event and he flew all weekend long!!!!

Canadian engineer Jim McEwen likes flying jets in Florida in the winter time so much that he moved here. Jim is doing a great job flying his RAM 750 powered Bandit. Jolly Roger markings are the same as used on the F-4 - ProMark of course.

This Viojett/BVM .91 powered Aggressor III is fast enough for Bill Sampson. He is quite happy with ducted fan propulsion and says he'll stay with it.

(from l-r) Gustavo Campana, Tommy Wood, Alberto Vidal, Luis Ontiveros, and Felipe Vidal really enjoy all of the jet fly-in fun. Gustavo's Bandit (behind F-4) is history. It lost a battle with a tree on a high speed pass.