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SkyFest2017: Kent Pietsch and his Jelly Belly plane

If you have attended Quesnel’s International Airshow in the past, you will be familiar with the Jelly Belly flying machine and its incredible antics, performed by pilot Kent Pietsch.
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If you have attended Quesnel’s International Airshow in the past, you will be familiar with the Jelly Belly flying machine and its incredible antics, performed by pilot Kent Pietsch.

Equal parts aviator, educator, and comedian of the skies

Air Show spectators around the world have been treated to the unique variety of acts

performed by veteran pilot and consummate entertainer Kent Pietsch and his Jelly Belly

airplanes. His shows, which include specialty acts designed to thrill audiences of all

ages, showcase aerobatic stunts featuring airplanes that lose parts, engines that quit in

mid-flight, and landings onto runways mounted on moving vehicles.

Since 1973, Kent has performed his incredible aerobatic routines for millions of people at more than 400 shows that have taken him to quality venues throughout the United States.

Kent grew up in Minot, North Dakota, where every day after school, he’d find a way to get to the airport, and do whatever it took to get into an airplane.

While most aerobatic performers have one basic program, Kent executes three storied acts that leave spectators mesmerized. These include a dead-stick (turning the engine off) routine from 6,000 feet and a rooftop landing on a moving RV! However, Kent is best known for a comedy act that features a detached aileron (wing flap) and a mesmerizing wingtip-scraping pass down the runway that you must see to believe. When Kent is at the controls of his plane, it is impossible not to watch him perform.

Kent loves to fly, but the audience is always his number-one priority. “If you can’t entertain, you have no business being out there,” he said. “The gratification is in knowing that people are enjoying themselves.” Kent’s humble nature and willingness to interact with fans make him a crowd favorite wherever he performs.

He flies an 800-pound Interstate Cadet with a 37-foot wingspan. The plane’s horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine can generate 90 horsepower and a G-force ranging from -3 to +5.

Welcome Kent Pietsch to Quesnel’s International Airshow.