Palmer air fair aims to reduce accidents

PALMER — Airplanes aren’t exactly a rare sight in the Valley, but on Saturday there should be quite a few more buzzing around the skies over Palmer.

The third annual Palmer Air Fair and Rendezvous begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Palmer Airport.

“We have a nice full day that kind of reaches out to not only pilots, but reaches out to — we hope — the future aviators,” said Val Jokela with the Federal Aviation Administration, one of a long list of sponsors for the event.

Jokela said the rendezvous came about when the FAA started looking for a way to put together a clinic for the start of hunting season. The season sees an increase in the number of planes in the sky and as such, reminding pilots of safety tips seemed like a good idea. The administration found partners in Palmer and the idea came together. That first incarnation was a success, Jokela said.

“The first year we held it was the first year since 1999 that we had no accidents during the month of August,” she said.

Attendance that year was booming, she said, due mainly to a good stretch of weather that coincided with the rendezvous.

“We’re hoping for good weather this year,” Jokela said.

There will be speakers on pilot safety, aviation displays, a short field take-off and landing clinic from the Alaska 99s — a local branch of an international group of women pilots — and a National Transportation Safety Board briefing on the crash that claimed the life of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens.

The event also has a youth component, with the outreach groups Youth Aviation Adventure and Young Eagles teaming up to teach kids about flying and even taking them up in airplanes.

“Not all the kids we’re figuring will be interested in going in a real airplane,” Jokela said, and the hope is that some of those more reticent youngsters will get to try out a flight simulator.

The youth events actually started as their own event and have been rolled into the rendezvous.

“The Youth Aviation Adventure portion was initiated many years ago by the Boy Scouts so they could earn their aviation merit badge,” Jokela said. It has since been expanded so “it isn’t just a Boy Scout event.”

As of Thursday afternoon, 100 kids had signed up. The program’s capacity, she said, is 120 to 150 kids.

The short field clinic should draw in a number of pilots, Jokela said, and they’ll be bringing their planes.

“We would like the pilots who go for that to actually attend the off-airport guide seminar,” she said.

Also on hand Saturday will be Dennis Ward, executive director of the Medallion Foundation, who will share the story of an accident he once had while flying.

“He’s sharing with the pilots some of the decision-making that was not good decision-making,” Jokela said. “He’s hoping that people will learn from his experience and not repeat it.”

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.