Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Air Expo Plans Now Complete

Plans for the first annual Gurdon Forest Festival Air Expo are almost complete.

Members of the Gurdon Airport Commission met Thursday, Sept. 26, to finalize plans and decide what would go where at Lowe Field.

The airport will be closed for three hours Sunday, Oct. 27 for the show itself. However, the festivities will begin at 1 p.m. with the Voodoo Cowboys taking center stage.

Coordination, according to director Mary Burns, is critical because of the time frame. She said the parachutists will have a small window for their jumps, which will occur between air acts.

Commission member Jerry Johnson will be flying the jumpers up, taking off with the aerobatic acts and climbing to 5,000 feet. The acts will be flying at 3,500 feet.

The balloons, including the Arkla Gas Co. balloon, will be places as to be visible from Highway 67.

Crowds, according to commissioner Gary Deaton, will be kept 500 feet from the aerobatic box for safety reasons.

Security will be worked by members of the Civil Air Patrol, Clark County Sheriff's Office and Gurdon Police Department.

The experimental planes and home builts will be lined up on display in a path to where the other air rides, such as the Tulsa helicopter crew, will be given. This way, the commission reasoned, the crowd will have something to do as they walk to the rides. Burns said this will be good because there are some unusual aircraft expected for the show.

Airport road will be closed during the show on both ends. Visitors will be directed to the parking areas as they pay their gate fee coming off Sticky Road.

Saturday, Oct. 26, there will be static displays for those who venture from the Forest Festival to Lowe Field, along with radio control shows.

One of the major problems, Burns said, is not a bad one to have. As word spreads of the show, more and more acts want to be involved. However, time and money constraints limit what can be done at the air expo.

Those going to the expo will be thrilled with the aerobatic exploits of Doug Watt, Dr. Galen Hutchenson and Bobby Younkin, who will be the final act with his Samson.

Tickets for the event will be $2 for adults and $1 for children five to 12. Those under five get in free. However, for patrons arriving wearing the Air Expo T-shirts, the gate fee will be $1 off.