The annual Wings Over Dixie air show returns to Falcon Field a bit earlier this year, and under new management.

The Airport Authority voted unanimously last week to approve the use of Falcon Field for the Wings Over Dixie 2000 Air Show and Festival, which is scheduled for Mother's Day weekend, May 13-14.

The 1999 show last September raised $244,000, according to Airport Authority chairman David Good.

The Confederate Air Force, which oversaw the entire weekend of events last year, decided not to do that this year, Good said, and will operate the actual air show itself, leaving the coordination of fund-raising and other logistics to another group.

The featured attraction at Wings Over Dixie this year will be the Canadian Armed Forces Snowbirds, a Canadian team that many say is the best military air show team anywhere.

Their availability helped determine the dates for this year's show. A cancellation of an earlier scheduled appearance freed up the team for Mother's Day weekend, and they contacted Wings Over Dixie organizers, who had already been talking to them about coming down this year.

Having the Snowbirds perform in Peachtree City would be “a feather in our hat... a one-time opportunity,” Good said, adding that the group could also cause attendance to grow dramatically from last year.

With the change in duties for the Confederate Air Force, a separate entity has been incorporated specifically to oversee the operation of Wings Over Dixie. A board of directors is being formed, to include members of the CAF, Airport Authority and Fayette Youth Protection Home, one of the primary benefactors of the show's charitable proceeds.

Lewis Jordan, former head of ValuJet (now Airtran) and a Peachtree City resident, is the chairman of the board. Peachtree City Mayor Pro Tempore Annie McMenamin is serving as vice chairman. McMenamin is active in the Peachtree City Kiwanis, who are among the most visibly involved in the air show's charity endeavors.

When word got around that the CAF would not be sponsoring Wings Over Dixie again, McMenamin was key in getting the ball rolling on another way to keep the show running for the various charitable organizations that benefit from it.

The Kiwanis alone made about $18,000 from last year's show, according to authority member Catherine Nelmes.

Good reported that the Youth Protection Home received $12,000 from the show's overall $106,000 profit in 1999. After about $138,000 was attributed to expenses, the CAF received $81,000 and $12,000 was paid to the show's organizer.

“In my view, a small amount of revenues last year went to charity,” said Good, who cited fund accountability as one of his primary concerns should the 2000 show take place at Falcon Field.

Also of major importance to Good and the other authority members was making sure that the airport recoups whatever expenses it incurs from Wings Over Dixie this year.

The vote last week to approve the location of the show was a “revenue neutral” decision, and the authority emphasized that it could not afford to expend its resources without assurances that it would recover its investment.

Good said that he is confident in the abilities of Jordan and McMenamin to get all of the interested parties together and make it work.

Other board members include Asden Johnson, representing the Fayette Youth Protection Home; Butch Hill, of the Kiwanis Club; Tom Barnes, of the Confederate Air Force; and Good, representing the Airport Authority. Two additional at-large seats have not yet been filled.

Greg Hall is president of the show, McMenamin said, and will oversee its day-to-day operations.

Among the changes in store for this spring is an increase in the number of concessions from seven or eight last year to about 16 this year, McMenamin said. “There was so much interest, and other organizations that wanted to be involved, that we wanted to include as many as we can without diluting the profits for those organizations.”

A reception is planned for March 1 at 6 p.m. at Falcon Field, after a briefing that afternoon by Snowbirds representatives at the Floy Farr Room in the library. It is being sponsored by the Airport Authority, the Development Authority of Peachtree City, and the Fayette County Development Authority.

The Snowbirds have asked that 250 Atlanta companies that do business in Canada be invited to that event, Good said.

The air show organizers are working very closely with officials from the Canadian consulate in Atlanta as the event is being planned, McMenamin said.

“We're very fortunate to get them [Snowbirds],” she said. “They don't usually come this far south, and they are normally booked several years in advance.”

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