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Air Zoo 40th Anniversary Fly-In (2019)

Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2018 4:07 pm
by Bretten Bailey
A flying event returns to the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport in 2019. While we haven't officially announced it yet, we are planning a big fly-in for the Air Zoo's 40th Anniversary.

The event will be September 14th-15th, 2019 and will feature many historic aircraft from warbirds to (hopefully) modern military. Rides will also be available.

This event will bring back a highly anticipated aerial event to the Air Zoo museum in Kalamazoo/Portage, Michigan. It won't be the only fun event as part of the 40th Anniversary celebrations either.

I will update as more gets put together.

www.airzoo.org

Re: Air Zoo 40th Anniversary Fly-In (2019)

Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2018 5:52 pm
by kalamazookid
This is awesome news. Other than the occasional bomber visit and the National Air Tour stop in 2003, I don't think there's been a major flying event at the Air Zoo since the last Warbirds Over Kalamazoo show in 2001. I will absolutely make it a priority to return to my hometown for this.

Re: Air Zoo 40th Anniversary Fly-In (2019)

Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2018 10:13 pm
by RyanS
Great, ANOTHER thing I need to squeeze into my calendar! :D

Looking forward to details!

Re: Air Zoo 40th Anniversary Fly-In (2019)

Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2018 12:27 am
by bigt512
Sounds like it could be a good time.

Re: Air Zoo 40th Anniversary Fly-In (2019)

Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 9:10 pm
by Bretten Bailey
We'll begin with aircraft announcements soon, but for now, we just released our big events/exhibits for 2019, our 40th Anniversary Year!

As one of the leading air museums and science centers in the country, we promise a fun-filled year for everyone. Not only will we be highlighting our own anniversary, but we will also be opening exhibits for the 75th Anniversary of D-Day and the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing.

January - Wild Weather Exhibit closes January 16th - If you haven't seen this exhibit yet, make sure you do! It blows away on January 16th to make way for our next major exhibit! This exhibit features everything severe weather. Explore how tornadoes form, destruction from hurricanes, heat waves, slow down a lightning bolt, create your own tornado, dance up a storm and so much more! This fun and interactive exhibit has proved to be a hit for the museum and you will want to make sure you check it out before the storm fizzles out!

January - Anniversary Year Kickoff

February - NEW EXHIBIT: GAME CHANGERS OPENS! "Game Changers" is a terrific exhibit coming to us by Science North in Canada (the same company responsible for Wild Weather's design). Game Changers is a highly interactive and immersive exhibition that explores how technological advancements have shaped gameplay in video gaming systems and transformed the way we interact with technology. Not only will you be able to learn about video games, but you'll be able to play them too!

March - "Memories & Milestones: 40 Years of the Air Zoo" Exhibit Opens - This exhibit will highlight the 40 years of the Air Zoo's operation. Highlights will include the annual air shows, the original building, the North Campus, former exhibits and more, all leading up to what we are doing in 2019.

April 13th - "Science Innovation Hall of Fame Awards" "SIHOF". The Science Innovation Hall of Fame Awards is an annual event that helps benefit the Science Inspiration Scholarship Fund. This fund helps many students from around the State of Michigan to attend educational programs at the Air Zoo each year. This dinner and awards ceremony helps highlight excellent students and teachers every year. In addition, the newest members of the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame (which is located here at the AIR ZOO) will be inducted! Don't miss the silent auction as well.

May - Southwest Michigan Cultural Membership Exchange - Grab an Air Zoo Membership. This month is a month of reciprocals. Members of the Air Zoo, Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, Kellogg Manor, Binder Park Zoo, Gilmore Car Museum, Kalamazoo Institute of Art & Kalamazoo Nature Center can use their memberships for admission to any of the other attractions.

June - "D-Day 75: En Route by Plane & Parachute" Exhibit Opens - This exhibit will celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings and the Invasion of Normandy!

July - "apo11o" Exhibit Opens - This exhibit will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing!

August - "National Aviation Day" - The Air Zoo will be celebration National Aviation Day with some great deals and plenty of fun! More to be announced soon!

September - 40th Anniversary Fly-In - Lots more about this will be posted to this thread ;)

October - "Ice Cream Challenge"

November - "Air Zoo Big Birthday Bash" - This special event will be celebrated on the Air Zoo's 40th Anniversary. While we would've loved to do a fly-in for this too, the time of the year suggested we had to go to the drawing board to figure something else out.

December - "Winter Break Family Fun Days" - Following an extremely successful 2018 Family Fun Days event, we will have them return in 2019.

As more firms up for the Fly-In, I will post here!

Re: Air Zoo 40th Anniversary Fly-In (2019)

Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 11:25 pm
by kalamazookid
My Dad and I made our annual holiday visit to the Air Zoo last weekend. It was nice to check out the SBD and FM-2 restorations and reminisce about the good ol' days when certain aircraft were airworthy. It's kind of bittersweet to go somewhere we spent many Saturdays when I was a kid (my Dad was member 300, but cancelled his membership shortly after the new campus opened). It doesn't seem like much changes on a year-to-year basis anymore other than the aforementioned restorations.

The enthusiasm we heard from museum staff and volunteers about the fly-in was really encouraging. Hopefully, it will be a popular event that will receive plenty of community support and convince the museum to hold flying events more regularly. Looking forward to more details about this event and possibly checking out a couple of the new exhibits.

Re: Air Zoo 40th Anniversary Fly-In (2019)

Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 4:21 pm
by kalamazookid
Any updates on this? I see that "Yankee Warrior" is supposed to be present and available for flight experiences.