GEICO Pilot talks what it takes to be in the OC Air Show

As you scan the skies during the OC Air show, you'll spot the GEICO Skytypers team among performers including military wonders such as the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the F-22 Raptor.

The Daily Times and Delmarvanow.com caught up with Larry Arken, team owner and flight lead for the GEICO Skytypers, ahead of the June 17-18 event at the beach and asked him what it takes to do one of these air shows and please the crowds.

What can people expect when the GEICO Skytypers take to the skies?

The GEICO Skytypers air show team will perform a 20-minute, low-level, precision-formation flying demonstration in six World War II-era training aircraft. All pilots who fought in WWII or the Korean War were trained in a version of our plane.

Much like the Blue Angels, the six planes will break into a unit of four to form a diamond formation that interacts with the lead and opposing solo aircraft in various maneuvers. The aircraft fly at slower speeds, enabling most of our demonstration, including more than 20 tactical maneuvers.

Prior to our demonstration, we plan to skytype messages in the Ocean City area, weather permitting. If people are within 15 miles of the planes, they should be able to see our messages that are taller than the Empire State Building.

Unlike the more traditional skywriting, we type 17 times faster and generate messages with 20-25 characters in less than two minutes. We’ll ascend to 9,500 feet elevation for skytyping and later descend below 1,000 feet to perform our air show demonstration.

Can you talk about the preparation that goes into performing one of these shows? 

We begin each season with ground school and spring training before flying in front of an audience. For every rehearsal or demonstration, there is a full team brief, a verbal talk through, a team walk through, pre-flight routine and a debrief following the demonstration.

The OC Air Show will be the ninth show of the season for the GEICO Skytypers, so we’re in prime shape. We constantly refine the maneuvers to adjust for the various show site locations and apply learning and safety measures to every performance.

What’s been your favorite performance as a Skytyper? What’s most unique?  

The GEICO Skytypers Air Show Team just finished a show in Reading, Pennsylvania.

The event was a WWII weekend filled with only warbirds, more than 1,700 re-enactors and a very large ground display with several encampments. It was like taking a step back in time to the days when our planes first began flying.

Beach or over water shows offer a unique dynamic when flying. We’ve always enjoyed flying over the beaches in Ocean City, which are typically packed with thousands of spectators.

At the end of our demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday, the solo pilots from the team will race our water bound counterpart, the eight-time world champion Miss GEICO catamaran. It’s a pretty rare activity for an air show and creates a lot of excitement.  

What advice can you give for somebody who’d like to be Skytyper one day?

We have a program called “The Sky’s the Limit” where we speak to youth groups, organizations and schools. During these visits, we share values of teamwork, focus, commitment and dedication.

Within the aviation field, not everyone is a pilot. We have a full-time crew of three maintainers that travels with the team and keeps our planes in top shape year-round.

We encourage students to follow whatever passion they want to pursue, but continue to reinforce the importance of education in STEM programs and organizations like the Civil Air Patrol to gain additional experiences.  Maintaining goals and staying focused is key.