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

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."