Aviation Day 2019 fell on that one unfortunately freeeeeezing cold day at the end of September.  The week before had been blue sky and in the 70s, the week after was blue sky and in the 70s, and for some reason that one weekend was gray, rainy, and in the high 30s-low 40s.  The forecast was even worse!  All week as we refreshed our weather apps, they were predicting “rain!” “snow!” “hail! “6.5 hours of precipitation!”  Thankfully, the reality didn’t match the dire predictions.  It was cold, around 43 for most of the event, but we had hardly any rain at all beyond a few sprinkles, and very little wind as well.  Not only did the actual weather on the ground not turn out to be as terrible as expected, but also, hundreds of Central Oregonians turned up to enjoy Aviation Day regardless!

Turnout was down a little last year, when it was – you guessed it, blue sky and in the 70s – but SIX HUNDRED PEOPLE still came out to the fairgrounds this year to climb on the 90,000 neon green aircraft fire and rescue truck, and the huge yellow runway snowplow and deicer that keeps the Redmond Airport up and running in even the coldest parts of the year.  Thanks to our 25 hardy volunteers, we were able to run an extensive arts and crafts booth, offering Kids Workshop kits donated by Home Depot, where kids used real tools to build and decorate everything from scarecrow planters to block calendars to airplanes. 

 Because necessity is the mother of invention, we also came up with a new aviation-themed craft when the potential for rain would have scuttled our paper airplane contests.  We got a donation of auto parts from Redmond Auto Service Tire Pros, cleaned them up, added in some lengths of PVC pipe, wire, glue, and clothespins, and had kids make “junk aircraft.”  They could (and did) make everything from biplanes to drones to spaceships with whatever random materials we had on hand (and we had a whole bucket of stuff), and some kids got really absorbed in the engineering aspects and came up with some pretty cool little models.  We’ll definitely be trying that again!

Our regular participants: COCC Aviation Department, AUVSI Cascades (sponsor), Field of Dreams RC Club, Experimental Aviation Association Bend Chapter, the Redmond Airport, and the Redmond Fire Department, braved the cold and came out to join us again (props to AirLink, which was on board to helicopter in again but was grounded by the visibility…get it?  Props!).  We also had some new participants, like the Redmond Library, the US Forest Service, Civil Air Patrol, Hillsboro Aero Academy, Leading Edge Aviation, and the Redmond Athletic Club (sponsor), so we are starting to see some real progress from our efforts to connect the Central Oregon aviation community with our audience of little potential future aviators and hobbyists.

Thanks to a STEM grant from AUVSI Cascades Chapter, and the hard work of RAPRD’s own Cruz Brigham, we were able to add ten Mavic Pro drones to our fleet this year.  These drones have self-leveling technology that senses the horizon and corrects the drone’s flight to prevent sudden jerky steering and crashes, and free the pilots up to concentrate on learning to operate and maneuver the drones.  Although the little Hubsan quadcopters we have used in past years have proved valuable for how sturdy they are – they can be crashed repeatedly into the cement and are still fixable/usable – these new Mavic Pros were so successful as beginner-friendly learning tools that we will be writing several more grants this year in an effort to upgrade the entire fleet to self-leveling drones.  If you or your business would like to make a donation to this effort, you can do so here, or contact margaret.maffai@raprd.org for more information.

RAPRD is grateful to everyone who came for making the trip to see what we had to offer at this, our third annual Aviation Day.  We hadn’t known what to expect and it was touching to see so many families come from far and wide, bundled from head to toe and ready for a day of fun, hands-on STEM action.  To see a turnout like 600 on a day like that affirms for us that this event is building up a positive reputation in the community such that families are confident they’ll have enough of a fun time to justify breaking out the long underwear.  After 3 years, we have reached thermals-worthy status!  Thank you all.

 Thank you to our sponsors, AUVSI Cascades, and Redmond Athletic Club (RAC), and to the Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center for once again partnering with us on this wonderful space that is so perfectly suited to our event.

 We are already making plans for Aviation Day #4 next fall.  If this year could be so successful and fun in such tough conditions, next year is going to be fantastic!  We hope to see you all there!