Navy Lt. Cmdr. Gerald "JR" Hansen knows firsthand what many military pilots want to experience for themselves.

"There is no better place for an air show than Kalispell," the Butte native and former air-show pilot says.

Kalispell's air show has a reputation for hospitality and taking care of the pilots - and you can't top the mountains as a backdrop for flying, he says.

"Guys fight to get in there," he says.

Hansen will bring in an F-18F Super Hornet (a newer version of the planes flown by the Blue Angels) for static display at the Glacier Park International Airshow Mountain Madness '05 this weekend.

The weapons systems officer who will accompany Hansen is a testament to the Flathead Valley air show's appeal. He's a Texas guy, but he's thrilled to visit Montana and plans to fit hiking into the schedule, Hansen says.

Hansen also has plans for his time off the tarmac. He'll visit friends and family (including aunt and uncle Randy and Tammy Hansen of Kalispell) who are coming in for the air show from across the state.

The pilot, a 1989 graduate of Butte High School, spent time in Kalispell when he played football against Flathead High School.

Hansen, 33, is an operations officer for the Strike Fighter Squadron Two at Lemoore Naval Air Station in California, where he lives with his wife, Danae, and son, Christian.

The Super Hornet he will bring to Kalispell is 18 months old, which is new by military-aviation standards, he says. The fighter jet is 25 percent bigger than the older version.

"It looks similar - same airplane on steroids," Hansen jokes.

The Super Hornet, an AH-64A Apache, a CH-47D Chinook and other military aircraft will be on the tarmac from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Glacier Park International Airport.

Reporter Camden Easterling can be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at ceasterling@dailyinterlake.com.