Saturday July 21st
8:00am until 4:00pm
Come join us for some summer fun at the airport! Wood County Regional Airport is hosting a fly-in/drive-in for all to enjoy. There will be free airplane rides for kids 8-17 provided by the EAA Young Eagles Program. Breakfast will be offered starting at 8:00 AM and lunch will follow at 11:00 AM. There will be plenty to see, with many static aircraft, military vehicles, and table displays. Helicopter and airplane rides will also be available during the event. Hope to see you there!
Posted: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 6:03 pm | Updated: 7:42 pm, Tue Jul 17, 2012.
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Posted on July 17, 2012
by Tara Keller
Those who have never gotten to be up-close-and-personal with airplanes will now have a chance.
At the Wood County Air Fair Saturday, people can take airplane rides, helicopter rides and see static aircraft.
The event, which will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., offers visitors the opportunity to go up in an airplane for $20.
“I’m excited to see the turnout,” said Matt McVicker, assistant manager of the Wood County Regional Airport where the event will be hosted. “I’m excited to see who will come out and see the airplanes.”
Visitors to the event can also take a helicopter ride for $30 each.
“It’s a five to seven minute ride with great photo opportunities,” McVicker said.
For those who don’t want to go up in the air, there are other ground activities to take part in.
“It’s going to be a fair-like venue with booths selling food,” he said. “We’re expecting about 2,000 people.”
Static aircraft, or aircraft that is grounded, will also be on display and will include a Mansfield ANG 179th Airlift Wing C-27, which visitors can take photos with and walk through.
“It’s a really new aircraft to the military,” McVicker said. “It’s not seen often.”
The event also features free flights for children ages 8-17.
“We want to educate young people on what it’s like to fly and to interest them in personal or professional flying,” McVicker said. “It’s exciting because a large majority of our population never gets to experience being in a small plane.”
The free airplane rides are sponsored by the EAA 582 Young Eagles Program. Pilot Ron Sturgill has been with the program since it began and celebrated his 1,000 flight this past Father’s Day weekend.
“The kids will land and say ‘it’s better than Cedar Point,’” Sturgill said. “They come back year after year.”
It’s important to get kids some experience with flying because eventually there will be no general aviation because of the cost of fuel, he said.
Sturgill’s participation in the program is also a family affair. His assistant is his wife Shirley Sturgill.
This weekend before the kids can take off, Shirley will get a parent signature and assign them to an airplane.
“Some of the pilots even let the kids fly,” Shirley said. “We try to keep up with the kids.”
After the approximately 20-minute flight is over, the kids receive a certificate and their names get recorded in the Young Eagles log book.
Senior Meghan Chambers has never flown in an airplane before, but said she is glad programs like the Young Eagles exist.
“Yes, flying can be scary sometimes, but I think it’s something everybody has to do,” she said.
The kids, especially those like her who have never flown before, will probably enjoy it, she said.
“I would have liked that when I was younger if I had the opportunity,” she said. “Gosh, now I wish I was younger.”
The event isn’t without a purpose, and it goes beyond giving people wings and the chance to take photos.
“We did this for people to see how important the airport is to the infrastructure of the community,” McVicker said. “We’re looking forward to providing a non-profit professional venue for the community to experience aviation.”
This event is located at-
1261 East Poe Road, Bowling Green, Ohio 43402
I am so excited to take Dave! Jordyn is gone with her dad this weekend but I am hoping he may take her.
http://www.savingwithsara.blogspot.com/2012/07/wood-county-air-fare.html
Labels: Around Town/Activities/Events
