Ask any air show fan to name their favorite civilian formation act, and the likely answer is, “The AeroShell Aerobatic Team.” No surprise, considering the team’s performance schedule of more than two dozen shows from Canada to Key West, including annual appearances at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.

Launched in 1985 as the North American Aerobatic Team, the group picked up AeroShell as their major sponsor in 2001, and today their four red-orange and white T-6 Texans are a mainstay on the air show circuit. Set against a backdrop of smoke trails accompanied by a chorus of four Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engines, the team’s fluid performance is the essence of “up close and personal.” Fun fact: Their routine uses 18 gallons of smoke oil per airplane, versus only 15 gallons of avgas.

Like a professional sports franchise, the group has seen some players come and go. In 2008, team leader Alan Henley suffered a nonaviation accident and was forced to retire. His brother Mark, who’s been on board since 1997, now carries on in the lead position. The sole founding member, Steve Gustafson, can be found welded in position on the left wing. Rounding out the roster are Bryan Regan flying right wing and Jimmy Fordham in the slot. I recently visited with these gents for some southern hospitality and hangar flying, and learned a new definition of “teamwork.”

Now in his 25th year with the team, Mark grew up in Alabama on a farm with a grass strip. His dad bought an airplane when Mark was 5, and Mark recalled, “When my brother and I were old enough to fly, we started fiddling with the Cub a little bit. Early on, we always had an airplane around, and so it was easy to get started that way. My dad liked the World War II stuff, so we had a Stearman, a T-6, and later on he bought a P-51.” Mark began flying the P-51 in his 20s and said the experience “became a steppingstone to other warbirds,” leading to his stint with the Collings Foundation flying its fighters, as well as the B-17, B-24, and B-25. When not flying with AeroShell, Mark is an FAA designated pilot examiner and also a certificated A&P mechanic.

Steve Gustafson has been an ag pilot for 40 years and still helps out in the family business, working crops in the Louisiana delta. Steve recalled, “My dad bought the T-6 I’m flying today in 1959 and paid $1,200 for it. I soloed it when I was a junior in high school. I flew my first air show in it when I was 19, and kind of went from there.” When asked about the challenges of air show flying, Steve remarked, “To do what we do, it’s not that anybody else can’t do it. You just have to put in the dedication and time and the willingness to work hard.”
Does the team require much practice before the start of a new season? “If you and your wife have been married for a long time and you go get on the dance floor … two moves and you’re right back in step. What you’re seeing is a choreographed routine. It turns into muscle memory.”

In describing how the T-6 handles in formation, Steve said, “If you push the power up on Tuesday, you’re not going to get anything till Friday afternoon, ’cause these things weigh 5,000 pounds. It’s energy management to the nth degree.”

Bryan Regan grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, and said, “I started dreaming about flying when I was a kid.” In high school he was active in EAA and the Civil Air Patrol but obstacles kept him grounded. During college, he ran into a childhood friend sitting on the wing of a T-6 at an air show. “After the show, they put me in the airplane and went up and did a loop and a roll, and within days I started training with my friend’s brother. In 35 days I was ready for my checkride.” Bryan built time flying skydivers and “riding shotgun on freight runs in a Beech 18.” A job ferrying a Stearman biplane for an air show performer led to a slot with the Red Baron Squadron, where he performed in a Stearman for 16 years. Fifteen years ago he joined AeroShell, and recalled with a smile, “I already had the experience. The main thing was making sure I put the landing gear down.” Bryan reported that his teammates enjoy a good-natured critique of each other’s performance. “If you make an obvious error, you have to buy, and you’ll hear it on the radio … that’s a buy!”

Jimmy Fordham, in his 12th year with AeroShell, is the “newbie” on the team. “I fly the slot,” he quipped with a twinkle in his eye. “I’ve got the best view in the house.”

Another Louisiana boy, he learned to fly from his father. “I’d always been interested in aerobatics, and I remember my dad gave me a ride in a Cessna 150 Aerobat for my 16th birthday.” The aviation bug bit hard, and Jimmy worked his way up the ladder to eventually retire as a captain for Delta Air Lines. Along the way, he became good friends with aviation legends Marion Cole and the Cole brothers, which led to his air show debut in a Midget Mustang. Reflecting on his teammates, Jimmy said, “We like what we do, but we’re also real close friends.”

And that seems to perfectly sum up this airborne troupe. Steve Gustafson added, “We get asked all the time, ‘Who’s the best?’ And I always answer, ‘If you can take a little something from Mark, a little something from me, a little something from Bryan and Jimmy, and put those into one person, then you would have the best.’ What you see up there is the best of all of us combined at one time.”

That’s a winning combination for sure. You can catch their act throughout the week during the afternoon air shows, and don’t miss the unforgettable night performances Wednesday and Saturday.