University Chronicle Extras:
Movies
|
Rate a Pic
|
Horoscopes
|
Career
|
Scholarships
|
Travel
|
GradZone
News
Briefly
Calendar of Events
Commentary
Sports
Diversions
World News
Classifieds
Login
Letter Submission
Search
Archive
Publishing Policy
Mail Subscriptions
St. Cloud State University
College Publisher
Home
>
Diversions
SCSU takes off with Airport Day
By Jay Corn
Published:
Monday, April 19, 2004
Media Credit: Matthew Kaster
SCSU students Jonny Fults and Molly Hansen pretend to save the world in a helicopter shown at Airport Day. Hummingbird Helicopters of Minnesota, located in Eden Prairie, usually uses the chopper for flight training and aerial photography. Dozens of other aircraft were available for prying eyes.
Media Credit: Matthew Kaster
Tallis and Lakota Watson go nutty in an inflatable funland parked just outside of airplane hangers 1 and 2 at St. Cloud Regional Airport Sunday afternoon.
Jay Corn
Staff Writer
Lt. Col. John Voth (ret.) was in the first grade when Charles Lindbergh made his historic trans-Atlantic flight in 1927. Voth vividly remembers Lindbergh's epic three-day voyage, and conjuring up the 80-year-old memory, he spoke about the famous flight and its impact as if it were just completed yesterday.
Lindbergh's flight planted a seed in Voth's mind, a seed that would eventually lead him to a life of service through flight. After 27 years of duty in the Air Force, and a pilot since the age of 16, Voth has seen just about everything there is to see in the aerospace universe. Consequently, his endless supply of stories and his extensive collection of historical memorabilia have made Voth a favorite at the air shows and aerospace events he and his wife regularly attend.
Several hundred other flight fans joined Voth and his wife, Dickie, Sunday for the 8th annual Airport Day, the kickoff event of this year's SCSU Aviation Week. The St. Cloud Regional Airport played host to the day's festivities and was transformed, primarily by SCSU students, into a museum/carnival that kept kids and parents busy and entertained all afternoon. Despite some threatening morning weather, Airport Day proceeded as planned with only some slight tweaks to the itinerary.
"We were going to do (Young) Eagle flights for the kids today, but the weather was not very good this morning and a lot of the pilots couldn't make it up here to give the flights," said Women in Aviation President and SCSU student Beth Wirtala above the roar of an landing jet engine. "On the bright side though, this has probably been the best Airport Day weather-wise we've had in a few years. Last year it rained, and the year before that we had six inches of snow, so it's good that we have a pretty nice day this year."
The day's main attraction centered on what most came to see; the sleek, newly washed airplanes visitors were able to get up close and personal with.
Guests were allowed to climb into the cockpits and get some expert instruction on the ins and outs of the various aircraft on display. For some, it was the first time they had ever been in an airplane, let alone get to mock-fly one.
"I brought my two kids out here with me today to check things out and let them run around a little bit," St. Cloud resident Dan Scalia said. "It's really been an interesting experience, and my kids are having a blast as you can see. I've never been in an airplane, and neither have my kids, so it's been fun to see smaller planes like these up close. My kids can't stop asking when we're going to fly somewhere, so I guess I have to find somewhere soon. They were looking forward to the Young Eagle flights, but they understand the weather just wasn't cooperating."
While the forced cancellation of the Young Eagle flights was, in Wirtala's words, "a big bummer," there were plenty of other things to occupy the dozens of kids who spent their Sunday afternoon at the airport.
Two huge trampoline style bouncers, complete with slides and tunnels, were blown up on the tarmac, providing endless entertainment for energetic kids.
A platoon of young boys escaped reality the way only little boys can, climbing on the fire rescue truck stationed just off the airport's main runway, letting their imaginations run wild with pretend rescue missions and emergency distress calls.
"Today is mainly for the kids because they're the future of aviation and we want to get them involved and interested as early as possible. It's for adults too, but it's mainly for the kids and a lot of the stuff we've got going on is for their entertainment," Wirtala said.
A big goal for the SCSU aviation organizations this year was community involvement and participation, a goal that was agreed on by organizers early in the planning stages, and one that by all accounts was accomplished.
"This year we really wanted to get members of the community out here to kind of hang out and be involved because some people don't even know that we have an airport out here," said Randi Coon, president of the SCSU Aero Club. "Those who do know about it probably have never been out here, so we wanted to try and change that, and judging by the turnout, I think we all did a good job accomplishing that."
Members of the various SCSU aviation organizations (there are five) were the driving force behind the day's festivities and were responsible for the planning, advertising and eventual execution of the day's events. Throughout Aviation Week's duration, the groups will be sponsoring and organizing several aerospace events around the state in collaboration with other university chapters, including a tour of a Minneapolis control tower Monday and a community service day and airplane wash Wednesday. Aviation Week will conclude Friday evening with a swing dance and banquet that this year will follow a WWII theme.
Forum:
No comments have been posted for this story.
Post a comment
