AVIATION DAY SATURDAY; SKYDIVERS, PLANES, BALLOONS FEATURED

Joe Keipp took his first flight in an open cockpit airplane Thursday, an experience he said he will never forget.

Keipp flew in a 55-year-old Fairchild PT-19A with Bob Moore, an owner of the plane, from its home base in St. Louis to Cape Girardeau to help promote Aviation Day at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

Aviation Day will be held Saturday. Gates open at 8 a.m.

A variety of plane rides, displays, fly-bys and a hot-air balloon launch are scheduled.

Admission is free. Parking costs $3, and those offering rides will charge fees ranging from $5 to $150.

Those attending Aviation Day have a chance to win a ride in the PT-19A, the chance of a lifetime, Keipp said.

"It's 10 times more exciting than riding in a regular airplane," Keipp said.

As he flew from St. Charles to Cape Girardeau, Keipp thought of the men who flew in that same plane more than 50 years ago. "This was a trainer for 18- and 19-year-olds who were training to fly in the war," he said. "It's a pretty amazing experience."

Pilots Moore and John Ellis of Jackson are among eight owners of the plane.

"I'd say 80 percent of pilots flying today have never flown in an open cockpit plane," Ellis said. "It's quite an experience to get to do that."

The PT-19A was built in 1942 as a trainer plane for those entering the Air Force.

In 1985, Ellis and a group of pilots discovered the plane, in pieces, in a Paducah, Ky., barn. Looking at the parts scattered on the ground, Ellis and the others saw potential: They spent the next two years rebuilding the plane, and got it flying in spring 1987.

Since then, the PT-19A has been featured in air shows across the Midwest.

On Thursday afternoon, Ellis took the PT-19A up as part of a promotional flight for the airshow. At 5,000 feet, he flew parallel with a modern Cessna while three skydivers jumped and a photographer captured the event.

When the other plane and skydivers were safely away, spectators on the ground said "Whoa!" as the old plane dove. But Ellis was unimpressed.

Although it is half a century old, Ellis said the plane is as sound as any other aircraft flying today.

"It's very meticulously maintained," he said. "It undergoes the same inspections and certification as any other aircraft."

One of the skydivers Thursday was Dwight Gates, a Cape Girardeau businessman who will offer tandem skydives as part of Saturday's activities.

Gates said between 60 and 100 skydivers from 10 states will be at the airport Saturday. "This will be the biggest skydiving event in Cape Girardeau ever," he said.

Skydivers will jump almost continuously all day long.

"We'll have licensed skydivers of all ages, from 17 to 80 years old," he said.

The skydivers will jump from 14,000 feet. "You get a lot more free fall from that altitude," Gates said. On Thursday, they jumped at 5,000 feet.

The tandem jumps will be available for those 18 years and older. A person is strapped to an experienced skydiver and the two jump together.

"Video is available for people who do the tandem jump," Gates said. "A video photographer films while we are in free fall."