Paine Field Air Show Takes A Nose Dive -- Snohomish County Fixture Is No More

PAINE FIELD - There will be no streams of colorful smoke in the sky, no vintage airplanes flying upside-down. No wing walkers.

The Washington International Air Fair, one of the country's largest air shows and a fixture of Snohomish County aviation history, has crashed.

The air fair, long considered the state's largest and only official air show, attracted more than 100,000 people to Paine Field on a good weekend.

In the past five years, it has hobbled along, always seeming on the verge of bankruptcy. It survived because Snohomish County residents, proud of the area's aviation legacy, kept it alive.

But pride could carry the show only so far.

"The financial risk is too big, and nobody is willing to put up the money," said Dave Waggoner, Paine Field's manager. "If the weather is poor, you still have to sign the checks."

The annual two-day show has taken place in late July or early August. At this time of year, dozens of volunteers typically would be working around the clock to prepare the show.

The air show has been part of county history in one form or another since the 1940s. In the 1960s, the Lynnwood Rotary Club took over the show and produced it for 24 years.

The Rotary lost $60,000 in 1989, barely broke even on the 1990 show, which featured Soviet fliers, and made a little money in 1991, partially boosted by a tribute to Persian Gulf War troops.

But the Lynnwood Rotary gave up after losing $50,000 on the 1992 production.

John Ryan, who produced the show for the Rotary, kept it alive the last two years with the help of a cadre of volunteers.

Only 25,000 showed up in 1993. Last year's attendance was slightly better but not enough to keep the show flying.

"I can remember having to park a mile away in some cases to walk to the site. The crowds were phenomenal for a number of years," said Dick Bennett, president of the Everett Area Chamber of Commerce.

The air show was the biggest production in the county, a tribute to local aviation history. The Boeing Co. builds its best-known airplanes here.

"Obviously, it was a good showcase for the county. But it needs to be profitable, and no one was willing to step forward and keep it alive," said Richard Smith, an executive director in the office of Snohomish County Executive Bob Drewel.

Why the show lost money remains one of the big questions. Erratic weather has been blamed for the small crowds in the past five years. People just didn't show up on rainy days.

Around the country, air shows are becoming big business, according to the International Council of Air Shows in Jackson, Mich. Corporate sponsors were expected to spend more than $4.7 billion this year.

The Paine Field show never attracted corporate sponsors. The show has been operated as a nonprofit organization to raise money for community groups. The Rotary raised more than $1 million over the years.

Bennett said it was difficult to measure the economic impact of the Paine Field air show, but it certainly brought prestige to the county.

"Anytime you lose an event of this magnitude, there's an economic impact. But I am not discouraged," Bennett said.

"We will find something to replace it. Whether it is an air show, I don't know."