Let Your Spirit Soar at the San Carlos Airport This Saturday

Having an airport in your town opens up an entire range of possibilities---above and beyond regional air transport. And to prove it, the San Carlos Airport will host a special hands-on event this weekend to introduce the community to everything from Huey helicopters to free airplane rides for kids.

San Carlos Airport Day 2013 will feature airport tours, a display of unique aircraft, food trucks, bounce houses and children’s play area, exhibits and vendors and free airplane rides for kids.

Organizers say guests will experience the thrill of flying by buckling into the pilot’s seat of a single-engine plane, climb through a Vietnam-era Huey helicopter, and test their skills at the controls of a real flight-training simulator.

Aircraft on display:

* The Turbine Toucan, the most powerful aerobatic biplane ever made, and featured in Disney’s upcoming movie “Planes.”

* AWorld War II P-51 Mustang fighter, and Stearman and Great Lakes biplanes from the 1930s.

* A Bell UH-1 Iroquois ‘Huey” helicopter. 

* Amphibious, medical and law enforcement aircraft.

Exhibitors and vendors include the San Carlos Flight Center, Women in Aviation International, Fly Bay Area Tours, Diamond Aviation Air Charter, West Valley Flying Club, JATO Aviation, Civil Air Patrol and dozens more.

In addition, the Hiller Aviation Museum next door to the airport has a display of futuristic planes, amazing prototypes and historical aviation equipment dating back to 1869.  

Located at its current site since 1948, the San Carlos Airport is home to more than 500 small aircraft and 25 aviation-related businesses. San Carlos Airport hosts air ambulance, law enforcement aviation, emergency response craft, charter airlines, aerial photography and flight training services. The airport is owned and operated by San Mateo County.

San Carlos Airport is located at 620 Airport Drive, on the Baylands side of Highway 101. Parking is available, and SamTrans runs buses directly to the site.

For more information, go to www.sancarlosairportday.com,

www.sanmateocountyairports.org, or call the airport at (650) 573-3700 from 7 a.m. through 9 p.m. daily.