Thunder Over Louisville Stikes Again

Thunder Over Louisville Stikes Again

by Dale Gumm

Publication Date: April 2001

Kenn Heismann knows when it's Spring time at his Greene County Sport Parachute Center in Bardstown, Kentucky. It's not the birds that take to the air, but the members of the Aerial Allstars Skydiving Team preparing for Thunder Over Louisville. Stretching their wings and shaking off the winter cobwebs, the skydivers groom their equipment and rehearse to be the best they can be for one of the most magnificent airshows in the country. Although the team has performed in nearly half of the states in the country, there is no greater rush than performing in your hometown in front of 120,000 friends and neighbors. You better be ready as the TV cameras are rolling.

The one and only act that has performed at Thunder every year since its inception is the Aerial Allstars. However, that first year in 1990, the team was called the Derby City Skydivers. The skydiving show was organized by Tom Weaver. In 1991, the team officially became the Aerial Allstars.

Although it is great fun, there are many challenges. For some reason those barges we land on seem to get smaller every year (of course, they don't). Mother Nature sometimes shows herself and reminds us that it is she who rules. Fortunately last year Thunder had perfect weather - but as many can remember in past years when it wasn't quite as nice.

This year's 12th anniversary edition of Thunder will explode over the skies of the city on April 21, 2001. There will be an encore of the very best acts and favorite fireworks from the past eleven years. Mr. Thunder, Wayne Hettinger, president of Visual Presentations who produces the show, also has some new magic and wizardry up his sleeve. Something new and something old will combine for the biggest and most extravagant production yet.