TOWN OF NIAGARA — Lt. Col. John Klatt knows how to fly an airplane in stressful situations. He’s a three-time combat veteran of the latest war in Iraq and has spent time flying relief missions in Africa and Europe.

So flying a trick plane in the Thunder of Niagara air show today and Sunday should be no problem for him, right?

“What looks like chaos to the naked eye on the ground is really a scripted, well-oiled machine,” he said of his act, which is approximately 12 minutes long and will be performed each day. “When the weather’s good, from April 1 through Nov. 15, we’re flying every day. And the No. 1 most important thing when you’re flying is safety.”

He’s spent hundreds of hours practicing the maneuvers he’ll execute using an aerobatics plane capable of flips and twists. The practice time allows Klatt and his team a chance to fine tune the routine while also allowing him the ability to acclimate himself to any and all adverse conditions, both inside and outside the cockpit, he said.

But while practicing and preparation give him a leg up on any problems that might occur, he’s also well aware of the dangers associated with the tricks he performs. It’s his dedication, he said, that makes him capable of overcoming some of the adversity he faces on a regular basis.

“Flying is like a golf game,” he said. “It can never be mastered. I can always get better. It takes real dedication to make this performance what it is.”

This year marks Klatt’s first appearance at the Niagara Falls base and its show. He’s flown in shows nationally for 10 years, but has not visited Western New York until this week.

“We’ve been trying to get into this show for years,” he said. “Now that we’re here, this is going to be a really exciting weekend.”

He may be an aerobatics pilot now, but Klatt’s career in aviation began as a child, he said. His father used to take him to air shows where they’d go camping just to spend hours around the airplanes. He said he remembered seeing the Thunderbirds — an act also performing at Thunder of Niagara — at one of the shows he attended and his dream of flying was born. After school, he joined the Air National Guard which assigned him to the 133rd Airlift Wing stationed in Minneapolis, Minn. There he spent time flying a C-130 Hercules, the same plane stationed at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.

Missions with the wing took him all over the world, including several to Somalia, Africa, in 1992, where his pilot training was put to the test on a regular basis.

“There would be camels and other animals crossing the runways there,” he said, adding that those runways were often simple, dirt strips in nearby Kenya.

His experiences in the Hercules also took him to Sarajevo in 1995, he transitioned into F-16 fighter jets, where he spent several hours flying high above New York City and Washington, D.C. after the events of Sept. 11 in an effort to curtail follow-up attacks. He said he particularly enjoyed the opportunity to fly that airplane despite the seriousness of the mission because the Thunderbirds — his inspiration for flying — are F-16s.

The Thunder of Niagara also affords Klatt the opportunity to give back again to the people affected by the devastation of the terrorist attacks 10 years ago.

“(The attacks) had an impact on what I did,” he said. “It was a challenging but rewarding opportunity to serve hand in hand with those service men, all of them. This show is my opportunity to give back to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

“This really is a great opportunity for us Americans to reflect on the last decade. So many lives were changed by what happened. It’s a good time to look back and remember the sacrifices everyone’s made. It’s an important week for our country.”