St. Charles native making Chicago Air and Water Show debut
The thrill of flying hundreds of miles per hour is not what St. Charles native Sgt. Micah Bachtold is most looking forward to about performing in his first Chicago Air and Water Show this weekend.
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight engineer, who watched the show growing up, is simply excited to come home.
"I'm looking forward to flying over the lake and being close to home," Bachtold said. "And of course I'm also looking forward to having a good Chicago hot dog and slice of pizza."
Bachtold is not the only first-timer in the Chicago Air and Water show, expected to draw millions to the lakefront Saturday and Sunday. The Breitling Jet Team, a seven-plane team from France, will be making its debut as well.
The show, now in its 57th year, will also feature five military teams, 11 civilian teams and Broadway star-turned-country singer Laura Bell Bundy singing the national anthem as part of the Songs for Sound hEAROES tour that raises awareness for hearing loss in service members returning from overseas.
With the Blue Angels, Bachtold works behind the scenes - and in the skies - on a plane named Fat Albert.
"My specific responsibility is to back up the pilots," Bachtold said. "When we do our demonstration, I'll run the throttles."
Bachtold joined the Blue Angels in 2012 and performed his first show the following year. Since then, he has traveled around the nation, assisting with demonstrations in hundreds of air shows.
This will be Bachtold's last year on the flight squadron, which he transferred to after serving in the Marine Corps for several years. He will serve two more years in a different area of the military, still to be determined.
While Bachtold is new to the Chicago show, Dave Dacy of Harvard will return as a solo aerobatics pilot. He has about 40 years of experience performing across the country.
Dacy grew up near his family's small airport in Harvard. He learned to fly at the age of 16, moving on to aerobatics not long after.
"I taught myself, and I wouldn't recommend that," Dacy said. "They didn't have schools for that back then, but it was such a blast. You felt like you were a fighter pilot."
In the air show, Dacy will fly in a Super Stearman airplane, which weighs about 2,300 pounds and was built as a Navy airplane to teach people how to fly in the 1940s. It has since been modified for modern air shows.
His 10-minute act includes barrel rolls, loops, tail slides, triple snap rolls and more.
"Air shows are fun because you can play with the airplane," Dacy said. "You look down and forget that there's a million people down there. I get more out of it for myself than anyone else."
Dacy, also a flight mechanic at the Dacy Airport, has performed as an aerobatics pilot in different commercials and movies, including the movie "Fast Charlie and the Moonbeam Rider." His job comes with the thrill of adrenaline but also the fear of losing control in an open cockpit.
"My biggest fear occurs with the initial rolling over of the plane," Dacy said. "I have a fear of falling out."
Viewers can watch the 2015 Chicago Air and Water show along Lake Michigan from Fullerton Avenue to Oak Street, with North Avenue Beach as the focal point.
"It's a challenge, but it's fun," Dacy said. "I don't think people realize the time commitment and how much work is put into the show."
Bachtold, meanwhile, is enjoying every moment up in the air with the Blue Angels team, which has a flyover planned for about 1:15 p.m. Thursday over Wrigley Field at the start of the Cubs game.
"I'm having a blast," Bachtold said. "Working with these guys and girls is a dream."
See the show
Where: Along Lake Michigan from Fullerton Avenue to Oak Street, with the focal point at North Avenue Beach, 1600 N. Lake Shore Drive in Chicago
Transportation: Metra will be offering extended transportation services to the event. See
metrarail.com.Showtimes: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 15-16Admission: FreeInformation: (312) 744-5000 or