Air show hosted in Twin Cities

Monday, September 3, 2007 8:44 PM CDT

By Bob Holliday
bholliday@pantagraph.com

BLOOMINGTON — The Twin Cities will once again have an air show, but it will be on the ground, not in the skies.

The Sept. 22 event will be called “A Day at the Airport.”

“I hope it draws between 1,500 and 2,000 people,” said John Ohler, aircraft restoration project manager for Prairie Aviation Museum, which is sponsoring the event as a fundraiser.

A pancake and sausage breakfast begins at 7 a.m., with the event beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. Admission is $5. Children 5 and under are free.

While there’ll be no aerial displays such as the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds, Ohler said visitors will be able to get up close and personal with aircraft displayed on the ground. These might include military planes such as the C-130 cargo plane as well as various experimental aircraft, he said.

Ohler hopes “Day at the Airport” becomes a yearly event but has no idea whether it could lead to another aerial air show of the type that moved to Peoria from Bloomington in 2003.

Both Ohler and Frank Thompson, curator of the museum, said the event was created in response to public requests.

“Ever since the air show in Bloomington had to move to Peoria, numerous people have asked when we were bringing some air event to the Bloomington-Normal area again,” Thompson said.

Thompson said the event is still being planned, but “seems to be growing every day.”

“Sorry, no Blue Angels or Thunderbirds, but we might have a couple biplanes fly over during the day,” Thompson said.

He expects at least two dozen airplanes on display. The Experimental Aircraft Association is planning to give airplane rides to youth 8 to 17.

Thompson said about 1,200 square feet has been set aside in an area near Image Air and the Challenger Learning Center, near the old airport.