GEICO Skytypers Air Show Team Performs At The Fort Lauderdale Air Show Saturday-Sunday, May 4-5

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The GEICO Skytypers Air Show Team, the leading vintage airshow performance squadron, will perform at the Fort Lauderdale Air Show on Saturday and Sunday, May 4-5. The team's six WWII-era aircraft will perform a dynamic 18-minute, low-level precision-flying demonstration.

At the new GEICO Sea/Air Challenge which takes place at 12:05 p.m., Saturday, May 4 and Sunday, May 5, airshow attendees will see firsthand which one is faster, a plane or a boat. The GEICO Skytypers will race against the Miss GEICO offshore racing team who has won eleven world offshore racing championships.

"For the first time at the Fort Lauderdale Air Show, we're going to be racing the Miss GEICO offshore racing team. It's the aircraft that trained WWII pilots versus a World Champion powerboat," said Larry Arken, squadron commander and team flight lead. "Event attendees will have a front row seat for this epic sea/air racing face-off."

ABOUT THE AIRCRAFT (SNJ)

• The GEICO Skytypers fly six WWII SNJs, the Navy's equivalent of the Texas T-6. Both trainer aircraft were used to prepare pilots of "The Greatest Generation" for combat.
• In 1940-41, the SNJ was built as an advanced WWII military training aircraft designed to perform all the maneuvers of a fighter plane at slower speeds.
• The aircraft is powered by a 600-horsepower Pratt and Whitney engine.
• The GEICO Skytypers' low-level precision-flying demonstration was designed by team members who served in the United States military.

ABOUT SKYTYPING

• The GEICO Skytypers "skytype" by creating giant messages in the sky with five aircraft flying in a tight, line-abreast formation.
• The planes skytype by coordinating dot matrix-style messages with environmentally friendly puffs of white smoke.
• A computer located in the lead aircraft sends radio signals to the other planes and their white puffs of smoke create the "skytyped" messages that are often as tall as the Empire State Building and seen from a 15-mile radius.

For more information, please visit www.geicoskytypers.com.

ABOUT THE MISS GEICO OFFSHORE RACING TEAM
The Miss GEICO Offshore Racing Team competes in Class One, the biggest and fastest offshore class of racing. Their 47-foot Victory catamaran is powered by new twin Mercury 1100 turbo-powered race engines that generates 2200 hp and can reach speeds nearing 180 mph. Sir Steve Curtis is the throttleman for the Miss GEICO team and James Sheppard is the team driver.  Visit www.missgeicoracing.com for more information. 

ABOUT GEICO 
GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company), the second-largest auto insurer in the U.S., was founded in 1936 and insures more than 27 million vehicles. To make changes, report claims, print insurance cards and purchase additional products, policyholders can access their insurance policy here, connect via GEICO Mobile, phone or by visiting a GEICO local agent. Homeowners, renters, condo, flood, identity theft  and term life coverages are written through non-affiliated insurance companies and are secured through the GEICO Insurance Agency, Inc.  Commercial auto and personal umbrella coverages are also available.  Visit www.geico.com for a quote or to learn more.

MEDIA NOTE: 
Media rides and interviews are available upon request.  The GEICO Skytypers press kit is available here and includes press releases, photos, b-roll, etc.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Paramount Public RelationsJessica Prah, 312-953-3257, [email protected]

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SOURCE GEICO Skytypers