Get up close views of historic planes, or even take a ride, at Aviation Day

MUKILTEO — Dozens of airplanes will be swooping and soaring over Paine Field on Saturday, showing off for thousands of spectators on hand for the airport’s 20th Aviation Day.

The event is really about reaching out to people who live near the airport, which is busy with thousands of general aviation flights each year, said Les Smith, head of the Washington Pilots Association.

Beautifully restored warbirds from World War II and other eras will be on display. On Friday, volunteers were lining up some of the airplanes on the tarmac outside the Historic Flight Foundation. More will be on view at the Flying Heritage Collection on the other side of the airport.

The event’s $10 admission gets visitors into both museums. Kids under 17 get in for free.

The ticket price defrays the cost of putting on Aviation Day, but it doesn’t cover everything. Much of the cost is picked up by Paine Field, owned by Snohomish County, Smith said. The airport is self-funding through fees, leases and other revenue streams.

Aviation Day started as a way to connect with people living around the airport, said Stephanie Allen, who helped organize the inaugural event. “It was a grassroots outreach effort” by the airport and the Washington Pilots Association.

Allen will be flying on Saturday, leading a formation flight by the Beech Boys Formation. She’ll be flying a 1969 Cessna Skyhawk, followed by three 1950s-era Beechcraft Bonazas. One of those Bonazas will be flown by her husband, Rick Jones.

As a wingman, Jones will be focused on staying in formation.

“As the lead, I’m flying for every plane in the group,” Allen said.

They’ll make three passes in different formations. On the pass, the planes will peel off one at a time in two-second intervals, turn 180 degrees and come in for a landing in quick succession.

Kids ages 8 to 17 can get a free ride thanks to the Young Eagles, a national program which takes hundreds of thousands of kids up in the air each year.

The event’s organizers include the Washington Pilots Association, the airport administration and several historic aviation organizations, including the Historic Flight Foundation, Flying Heritage Collection and the Museum of Flight Restoration Center.

Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dcatchpole.

If you go

Paine Field Aviation Day is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Paine Field. There will be helicopter and biplane rides available at additional cost. There is free parking and a shuttle service; $10 admission for adults, free for ages 17 and younger.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.