Sonoma Skypark family day on May 19

Family Fun Day includes complementary hamburgers and hot dogs served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.|

The pilots and flight enthusiasts at Sonoma Skypark Airport are having their annual Family Fun Day open house on Saturday, May 19, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Airplanes from aviation’s Golden Age will be sitting next to some of the latest technologically advanced home-built aircraft, with hot rods and antique cars and trucks parked among them. Sonoma Skypark Airport is located at 21870 Eighth St. E.. There will be skydiving bingo, radio controlled airplane demonstrations, biplane rides and more.

Kids can enter the annual paper airplane building and flying contest. The planes are launched from the airport office balcony to see how far they will fly. Tom Vogt, “master and commander of all things flung,” will return once again to organize the contestants and judge the flights. Every participant will leave with a balsa glider furnished by the Sonoma Skypark pilots and shareholders. The young pilots making the three longest flights will win gift certificates from local toy stores.

Family Fun Day includes complementary hamburgers and hot dogs served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. One of the Sonoma Skypark supporters is sponsoring free ice cream from Three Twins Ice Cream in Petaluma. Guests can review the airplanes and automobiles on display with an old-fashioned hayride up and down the flight line.

There will be a raffle benefiting the Aviation Explorer Post 1268 based at Sonoma Skypark.

The Valley of the Moon Amateur Radio Club will have a ham radio station set up and operating, with members making contacts with other operators throughout the world. President Jim Hill will demonstrate radio communication from Morse code to computer-based digital modes.

The Experimental Aircraft Association gives free airplane rides to young boys and girls ages 8 through 17. Nationally EAA members have donated time and use of their airplanes to fly over 2 million “Young Eagles” flights. Sonoma Skypark pilots have flown over 2,000 Young Eagles in just over 10 years of the program operation. Information about obtaining a Young Eagles flight will be at the EAA club table, with a Young Eagles liaison on hand for questions.

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