WAPAKONETA — The Armstrong Air & Space Museum will be hosting a Festival of Flight Aug. 25-26 on the museum’s outdoor grounds. The festival will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday Aug. 26. In conjunction with the festival, EAA pilots will be offering flights to children at the Neil Armstrong Airport on Saturday, Aug. 25, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Participants of all ages can reach for the stars during the Festival of Flight at the museum. There will be PIGS Aloft (People Interested in Getting Stuff Aloft) Kite Club members who will fly various types of kites including impressively large inflatables. Along with kites, there will be a bubble machine and parachute races located on the north lawn next to the pavilion. Guests can fly their own kites on the north lawn or build a kite for $3 in the pavilion.
In addition to the kite building, the museum’s education team will be conducting free activities including paper airplanes, gliders, helicopters, and a wind tunnel with flying machines.
On Saturday only, Raines Aerial Photography Company will be flying drones and going over operations, on the job skills, equipment, and more. Guests will get to see how the pilotless “next generation” of aircraft operates through drone demonstrations.
The museum is also partnering with the Auglaize County Neil Armstrong Airport, a chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), located 12 miles away from the museum in New Knoxville.
From 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, the airport will offer tours of static display planes as well as flights for 7 through 18-year-olds, weather permitting. There will be a shuttle bus running from the museum to the airport for interested guests. Those wanting to drive themselves can park at the old terminal parking lot next to the airport. Preregistration with the museum is required to fly.
To register for flights at the Neil Armstrong Airport, contact [email protected].
All activities, except for the kite building, are free and open to the public.
About Armstrong Air & Space Museum
The Armstrong Air & Space Museum stands as a repository of Ohio’s aeronautical history and a monument to Ohio’s contribution to aviation and space exploration from the early pioneer days through the space shuttle era. See a moon rock, two full-sized aircraft flown by Neil Armstrong, the Gemini VIII space capsule, two of Neil Armstrong’s spacesuits, artifacts from the Apollo 11 mission and more.
