AVIATION DAY WILL SHOW OFF CITY AIRPORT

Those who attend next month's Aviation Day at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport not only will have the opportunity to enjoy an assortment of aircraft and other high-flying attractions in action, but will they get to see the airport's improved facilities as well.

The free Aviation Day, a Fall Fling and Fly In, will be Oct. 18. It offers the city a chance to show off its airport and to promote the airport on a regional basis, which it has been trying to do in recent years.

Aviation Day replaces what used to be called Balloonfest, an annual event that drew a lot of people. Aviation Day will still feature the popular hot-air balloons. Several are expected. They will fly the evening of Oct. 18, after sundown, and again the next morning.

All eyes will be to the skies for the balloons, skydivers, helicopters, crop dusters, experimental aircraft and remote-controlled planes that will be displayed. The airport will offer free tours of the control tower.

The new airport manager, Bruce W. Loy, is gearing the event toward educating the public about aviation and the airport. Aviation education is important if the city is to continue to operate the airport successfully, and Aviation Day offers the perfect opportunity to do so. It will attract many people from across the region who may not be familiar with airport operations or seldom have flown.

The airport plays an important role in the economy of the region, not only by offering commercial and charter flights but by providing runway facilities for private airplanes that bring corporate people to Cape Girardeau and the area. TWE Express, the commercial airline that serves the airport, will add another flight to St. Louis beginning in October, evidence of the confidence it has in the airport.

For those who would like to see what the airport has to offer -- and have a good time doing it -- Aviation Day is the time to do so.