2008 Sumner County Aviation Festival

To our community, our sponsors, our fans:

Thanks for a great ride!

The Wellington Noon Lions Club is currently working on a full event line-up for an airshow in 2010. We can't wait to do it again!

So it begins!!!

Well, the P-38 won't be here after all. It had some engine trouble en-route, and so was replaced by a P-51 for the heritage flight with the F-15 Strike Eagle. They practiced this afternoon and impressed all who saw and heard them!

Tonight's event was mostly for the kiddos - a nice steady pace at the carnival rides and Lions Club Grill. I know one little one who really enjoyed the Ferris Wheel! (I really enjoyed it too!)

It was too windy for hot air balloons, and probably will be tomorrow, too. But there's still an amazing line-up to look forward to from about 1 to 5:30 p.m. And if at 9 a.m. you see the Gooney Bird up in the air, give a wave to me and my family!!

50 some plus hours and counting...

I can't believe we will have an aircraft this cool at the event this weekend, so I'm wondering if I don't have it remembered wrong, but I could have sworn that they said the Heritage Flight from the military will be with a P-38 instead of a P-51. According to Lion Rick, there are only FOUR P-38's flying today. How unreal.

The P-38Now, isn't that a cool-looking aircraft!?

Imagine it in flight, earning its nickname as "the fork-tailed devil!"

We had our last Aviation Festival meeting prior to the event this weekend, and I'm so encouraged by everyone's high spirits and togetherness on this event. I couldn't be more proud and happy to be a Lion!

I just booked a flight for six on the C-47 for myself and family! :-) I'm really looking forward to being up in the skies again and for the thrill and the rush! I was told today I didn't make the list of "dignitares" who are taking the Blackhawk Helicopter flight this weekend. Bummer! lol. Here's a tip for anyone in the Wellington area Friday afternoon - The F-15 Strike Eagle will be "practicing" its performance over the Wellington airport around 2:30 p.m. It's an opportunity to shake the windows of every home in town and remind them there's an air show this weekend! It's also a good time for a free sneak peak - and really, can you see the F-15 too often? I didn't think so!

One Week Out!

One Week until the
Sumner County Aviation Festival!?!

Gates open at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10 and at 6 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 11 at the Wellington Municipal Airport. The main show will begin at noon and a full afternoon of air show performances is planned, starting at noon on Saturday. Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the gate, and all kids 3 and under get in free.

I cannot emphasize this enough, or say this with a big enough smile, the air show will be better than ever this year! Event-goers should have their eyes on the skies by noon sharp on Saturday to enjoy the full line-up of acts running all afternoon! Best of all, carnival rides will be offered all evening Friday and through the day Saturday, so there should never be a dull moment!

• The Young Eagles will offer free flights to first-time fliers age 8-17, with pilots volunteering their time and aircraft to bring their love of aviation to children. For a flight with the Young Eagles, show up first thing Saturday morning!
• Four hot air balloons from Anthony, Kan. will compliment the event with launches Friday evening and first-thing Saturday morning.
• Carnival Rides will be offered all through the air show at no additional charge once festival-goers are in the gates!
• Food vendors, including the Wellington Noon Lions Club, will offer all the carnival foods and drinks traditionally enjoyed!
• In addition to all the featured air show performances, there will be several featured attractions on the air field! Some of the features will be a military Blackhawk Helicopter, and a VERY UNIQUE collection of brass cars dated 1890-1910. (The things you may never see again aren't limited to airplanes at this year's event!)

For more details on this year's featured performers, keep blogging down the page! I've been excited about this event since last APRIL so there are plenty of air-show peeks and highlights if you keep reading 'older posts'!

Heritage Flight

The F-15 Strike Eagle

The P-51 Mustang

The Sumner County Aviation Festival has landed the military's best air show offering with the F-15 Strike Eagle and P-51 Heritage Flight. The dual-act will impress the crowds as the fighter aircrafts of WWII and today team up for an ear-splitting, ground-shaking act on Saturday afternoon! I can't wait!

Edit: If you didn't read above, the P-51 won't be here this weekend, it's the P-38 instead. But I have to leave the P-51 on here anyways, just because I enjoyed reading about it!

Sons of Legends

The BEST air-show performers in the world are returning to the Sumner County Aviation Festival this year - Matt Younkin and Kyle Franklin. The two are brothers-in-law and sons of legends Jimmy Franklin and Bobby Younkin - both grew up on the air show circuit and are true professionals, not to mention the world's best air show performers!

I am looking forward to the return of the Twin Beech! It is such an impressive aircraft in its size, so striking in its color. And to think a plane of such size could so gracefully and easily roll across the skies... it's amazing. You will love it.



What's best, the Beech 18 isn't the only air show performance these guys will bring to this event!


Better be at the Sumner County Aviation Festival by noon on Saturday to catch this great act!

The B-25 War Dog

The B-25 "War Dog"

The B-25 War Dog is another of the historic aircraft which will be featured at the Wellington airport for the Sumner County Aviation Festival. The B-25 Bombers are always a hit on the air show circuit because they are powerful, impressive and a thrill to watch. But, at the Sumner County Aviation Festival, you don't have to sit on the ground with a kink in your neck to enjoy the B-25 - you can take an amazing 30-minute flight on the aircraft for just $350. Flights will be offered Friday and Saturday, with the possibility of Sunday flights if enough flights are sold.

There's something to say for flying in a historic bomber. Although there will be calm skies this weekend, you won't be able to help yourself from imagining the very different conditions of a war-time flight as you stand behind the gunners and realize the history the aircraft holds.

It's a powerful machine, and will be a powerful experience for festival-goers who get on board! If you're interested in more history on the B-25, there's plenty out there on WWII's good ol' War Dog!

"The Gooney Bird"

The C-47

Imagine how much space this big bird is going to take up on the landing strip of the Wellington Airport! The historic C-47 Skytrain will be featured at the Sumner County Aviation Festival. Lions Club members are selling flights on this hostoric craft for only $30! The flights for the C47 will be approximately 15 minutes long for the low low price of $30. This plane can carry up to 19 passengers at a time and is available for flights on Friday and Saturday, and if all those sell out, the pilot will stay on Sunday as well. Anyone who is interested in this Once In A Lifetime opportunity, let me know immediately! I am telling you, once you hear it and see it in the skies, you'll be wishing you had signed up for a flight in advance!

The C-47 is widely known for its use during WWII, where for some reason it was affectionately referred to as The Gooney Bird. For more history on this aircraft, check out the Travis Air Museum.