The use of the term “stunt” has always annoyed me when refering to airshows. This isn’t some barnstormer who taught himself to fly, out there just winging it and hoping for the best. These pilots are not “doing stunt”. They are flying an aircraft through what are considered normal maneuvers and demonstrating the aircraft’s capabilities to the public. Reasons for this range from “showing the taxpayers what they are paying for” to recruiting to a subtle reminder to political and military foes. Unfortunately, some of the pilots from the former Soviet republics and other cash strapped nations get very little flight time, which only raises the possibility of pilot error during a demo.
When done right, a demo flight is a safe thing. Unfortunately, there is very little room for error. Should we stop motor racing, horse racing, boat racing, etc, etc, etc? All have the possibility of crashes, injuries, deaths, and assorted mayhem. Folks are fascinated by flight and always have, and always will, want to see what can be done with aircraft.
