ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The Liberal AirFair will be coming up fast, and this year’s event will see a familiar face in the sky with Brian Correll.
As Correll tells it, he is no stranger to the Southwest Kansas region.
“I grew up in a small town out by Dodge City, so I'm from Southwest Kansas. I had always been rather intrigued with aviation, but I didn't get in an airplane until I was 18, and my first ride in an airplane was for a skydive,” Correll said. “I started skydiving when I was 18, and I actually had 60 jumps before I ever landed in an airplane, so I had 60 takeoffs before I ever had a landing, and then went on to continue with that with the K-State Parachute Club, which I became involved with in college. So that's what started my interest in aviation, I had never really been around it as a child, but then I started learning to fly and working toward my license when I was 21. The first plane I bought was a Scitaborea, which is what got me into aerobatics and doing air shows. While I was still at K-State working on my engineering degree, I worked on all my ratings and everything with my flight instructor for my certificate, and then I was a flight instructor for a while. Then in 2004, I was hired by the Kansas Air National Guard to fly KC-135 aircrafts, and from there, getting into aerobatics, I think that was something I'd always been interested in, but I just hadn't really been exposed to it until I was working on my flight instructor rating. One of the prerequisites for that is spin training, so when I did that, I went on to get more aerobatic training, and when I was able to afford it, I purchased my first plane in I believe 2001 or 2002, got started in aerobatics there, and kind of moved up to my present airplane, which is the third one I've owned. Then I started doing air shows in about 2008, and that's where I am today. I upgraded from the Scitaborea to my current biplane, and fast-forward to 2025, I'm still flying and really looking forward to making my way back to Southwest Kansas.”
Correll said he had been contacted about participating in this year’s event last winter, and said he is always excited for the chance to visit Southwest Kansas.
“I always love going to Southwest Kansas, my dad grew up in Liberal and I've got other family in the area, so it's always neat to see everyone,” Correll said. “Also, one of my early field trips was to the Mid-America Air Museum, which is also great. Like I said earlier, I'd always been intrigued by aviation, but now that I've done everything in my career, I appreciate all of that even more. The AirFair organizers are great to work with, they always do a fantastic job coordinating everything, and they go all out to put on a great event. And this will actually be my third Liberal AirFair, which I think is really neat.”
Correll added the AirFair audience can expect to see many cool stunts with his act.
“The best way I can describe my act is it's almost like I'm flying a hot rod biplane,” Correll said with a chuckle. “It's designed from a WWII trainer, and my plane's been modified to have more horsepower and maneuverability. We make a lot of smoke and noise and do a lot of aggressive aerobatics, especially with my finale, which always gets the crowd. This year should be really neat for everyone – all of the acts are really cool, and I understand there's also going to be a night show for everyone. For anyone who hasn't been to an air show, this could also be their first time seeing a night air show, and I think that will just be an awesome experience. There's a wide variety of planes involved in the show, and the show is truly for everyone – the older patrons will more appreciate the historical value of the planes, and I think the younger attendees will enjoy the adrenaline and cool stunts that will be going on. And a lot of these types of shows primarily happen in bigger cities, so this is a great chance to see these planes right in Liberal's backyard.”
That overall passion for aviation, Correll said, is what has kept him going.
“My passion for aviation has kept me going, and so have all the people I've met along the way. I currently live in Wichita and work for a company that builds planes, so I get to see that all the way, from the design process to the finished product,” Correll said. “There are then the people who maintain the planes and help keep them going, and they're also great. Instead of getting to see these just sitting in a museum, people will get to see these aircraft fly and do really neat stunts and be entertaining. I remember there was an air show in Dodge City I went to when I was in about 5th grade, and we went to that, and I remember watching those guys fly and thinking how cool that was. And later on, after I learned to fly, I got to thinking there wasn't any reason I couldn't do that, and it's fun to inspire younger generations and talk about aviation.”
Overall, Correll said, he is excited to be participating in the Liberal AirFair this year.
“I'm really excited to be making my way to Liberal that day, and I think it'll be a great show from everyone who's involved,” Correll said. “I would just encourage everyone to come out that day and see what we do. If people come out, there's something for everyone, and it's great to be able to expose people to something like this, especially younger people.”
