AirBoss Ralph Royce Chats About Airshow Safety There are few more complex "organisms" than an airshow in full operation. The amount of detail, coordination and expertise needed to pull off the modern American airshow is beyond the abilities of any one human being... though it does rely on one to try to coordinate the aerial operations... the much respected and much feared AIR BOSS. At an inaugural East Coast airshow in 2008, ANN and Aero-TV had the chance to see one of the best at work. Ralph Royce -- Aviation Legend, Pilot, Warbird Jock and Airshow Expert, was at work this time keeping everything safe, entertaining and ON TIME. Following the completion of the show, ANN's Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell sat down with Royce to talk airshows, safety and how to help all involved to (according to one of Ralph's favorite sayings) "don't do nuthin' dumb." Royce has an amazing history in the aviation world. Royce served for 15 years as President and Chief Executive Officer of the The Lone Star Flight Museum and Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, having taken on that post in 1991. His emphasis on team-building and his plans for the future were evident in the statement he gave ANN upon his departure, "I cannot thank the volunteers and staff enough, for they have helped make this organization into the world recognized collection of aircraft and aviation memorabilia that it is..." said Royce. "I have had a wonderful ride but I have been planning this for some time. There are a couple of things I want to try in the aviation and air show worlds, and now is a good time to try them." A commercially rated pilot with extensive warbird and airshow credentials, and a descendent of two generations of aviators, Royce has been involved in some aspect of aviation his entire life. His grandfather was a career Army Air Corps officer earning Military Aviator License # 44. In 1917, he led the 1st Aero Squadron in France and became commander of all U.S. Forces in the Middle East during WWII. Ralph’s father was also a career Air ...