Occasionally, a genuinely new and fresh talent shows up on the air show circuit that sparks the imaginations of the audience. This is the case with Canadian air show pilot Kyle Fowler. He is a brilliant air show performer and everyone sees it as plain as day — or as plain as night — depending upon the time of the day when Kyle demonstrates his aerobatic prowess since his airplane’s paint is electrified.
Kyle took to performing at a very young age as an air show announcer for his father Ken Fowler’s aerobatic show performances. His father was half of the ‘Team Rocket’ aerobatic unit. Kyle helped his father with his homebuilt construction, too. He worked with his dad on construction of two RVs, three F1 Rockets, a glider, a jet, and about 17 partial builds. So, the air show life and building airplanes are both deeply ingrained into his DNA. Kyle is an automotive mechanic by education and training. So, he is a hands-on guy who does most of the work on his experimental airplane.
He earned his PPL at 21 years old followed by his commercial ticket and multi-IFR in 2015. He flies a Navajo Chieftain and a Kodiak to help fund his adventures and feed his growing family. His commercial flying work is a side hustle as he is a full-time air show performer.
For the air show demonstrations, Kyle pilots his 1986 Burt Rutan-designed 2-seater Long-EZ airplane. This canard wing design with its dramatic swept-back wings is an odd-looking aircraft. In its fresh, hot electrified yellow paint scheme, it is an instant eye-catcher. It instantly catches the eye on every flight line and is an air show photographer’s favourite. There were about 833 FAA-registered Long-EZs in the United States in 2021. So, it is a very popular home build to undertake.
The Long-EZ is an excellent long-distance performer, too, so it gets Kyle to and from the air shows economically and with great speed. The classic Rutan homebuilt airplane is normally powered with an IO-235, 125-hp carbureted engine and a standard two-blade propeller. The performance specifications include its 52-US-gallon./197 litre fuel tank, which boasts flight characteristics of 161 knots (max cruise), 125 knots at 40-percent power (cruise), 1,750 nautical mile range, a climb rate of more than 1,700 ft/min., and a service ceiling of an astonishing 27,000 feet.
Kyle’s Long-EZ has a much larger IO-360 powerplant sporting upwards of 225 hp with the Simple Design Systems (SDS) electronic fuel injection, all driving a specialized Catto propeller. He had to seriously upgrade the engine mounts for this near doubling of horsepower. These technological enhancements add a lot of serious ‘grunt’ to the classic performance parameters. In part, they add to the aerial demonstration performance and provide a higher degree of reliability and trust to get to the shows on time.
Compared to other air show performers seen at this year’s SUN n’ FUN event, Kyle’s Long-EZ is a somewhat tame act. He is slow and methodical in his intricate performance. He does a lot of slow rolls and knife-edge flying, yet the crowds love it and respond to the distinctiveness of his strange little airplane. He stands out for the crowd who are awestruck by his efficient execution of each manoeuvre in his wacky backwards flying airplane — well, it looks like it is flying backwards anyway, even if it is not actually doing it.
You will never confuse Kyle with the lightning-fast flip-flops, tumbles, spirals, and hammerhead stalls performed by other aerobatic acts like Michael Goulian in his Extra 330SC, Rob Holland in his Edge 540RH, or Patty Wagstaff in her Extra 300S. So, why then is he such a fan favourite? It is because he is unusual, unique, and most of all, easy to snap sensational photos of as he performs. During his show, his casual back-and-forth banter with fellow Canadian and legendary air show announcer Ric Peterson was fun and charming. The fans love the contrast of his act compared to the others. He is not just another aerobatic performer doing the same aerobatics. He is distinctive. Kyle stands alone.
Kyle’s Long-EZ sports a special paint job, too. He has a LumiLor coating underneath the paint of his hot yellow bird. Kyle’s Long-EZ is perhaps the only airplane flying today with this electrified coating. It is not the old fashioned glow in the dark paint job. The LumiLor paint solution is an electroluminescent coating system that is meticulously applied in five main layers with a back-plane layer, dialectic layer, lumicolor layer, a buss bar layer application, and a conductive top coat layer. The electroluminescent paint job is topped off with a light whitewash and finally a clear coat for protection. Powered by alternating current from an onboard electricity system and controlled by a custom programmed Arduino microcontroller, the paint is stunning in the dark.
LumiLor is available in eight colours — white, blue, aqua, green, orange, yellow, violet, and pink and the lighting sequence can be controlled in various ways, such as — simple on or off, strobe effect, sequencing, and motion and sound activation. There was once a Lexus high-performance car raced on the track with the driver’s heart rate controlling the exterior paint colour electrification. It was astonishing. If I was flying with Kyle, with this heart-rate activated system, I assure you that the displayed colour would be either airsick green or heart attack violet, maybe both, but in stages? He may be tame in his performance compared to the flip-flop acts, but it is still far more aggressive flying compared to what we weekend warriors can tolerate.
Kyle will perform at 18 scheduled air shows in 2023 with just four shows in Canada. You can get a chance to see Kyle perform at airshows in Peace River, Alberta; Abbotsford, British Columbia; Mirabel, Quebec; and Gatineau, Quebec. The rest of his air show performances will be in the U.S. And yes, he will be performing at EAA AirVenture 2023 too, between July 24-30. So, that will be a huge treat for his followers like me.
As a Canadian act, Kyle can thrill us wherever he performs. Now, it is not too hard to love his work as he delivers a brilliant show and his classic, down-to-earth, humble Albertan nature shines as bright as his airplane.