City officials consider hosting airport event during Memorial
Day weekend
The city of Hollister plans to sponsor a Memorial Day weekend
air show at the Hollister Airport as a means of promoting the
venue.
After initially being approached by a promoter who was
interested in putting on such a show before deciding not to, city
officials are planning to use up to $15,000 from the airport fund
to host a so-called Category 3 air show, which is limited to
aircraft that have a cruising speed of less than 156 knots and
propeller-driven aircraft
– no jets.
City officials consider hosting airport event during Memorial Day weekend
The city of Hollister plans to sponsor a Memorial Day weekend air show at the Hollister Airport as a means of promoting the venue.
After initially being approached by a promoter who was interested in putting on such a show before deciding not to, city officials are planning to use up to $15,000 from the airport fund to host a so-called Category 3 air show, which is limited to aircraft that have a cruising speed of less than 156 knots and propeller-driven aircraft – no jets.
“The only funding I have would be from the airport. This is not a general fund activity,” said Airport Director Mike Chambless. “My primary goal in doing this, and we’re going to keep the price real low, is to see how many people are willing to attend an event at the airport. Our normal procedure is to hire a consultant to pull a number out of the air.”
Instead, Chambless recommends hosting a relatively small event with the money that otherwise would have been used on a report.
“One thing that’s dangerous for an airport is lack of public awareness and information,” he said. “We’ll probably have, at most, two hours of acrobatic flying and there will be large, on-the-ground, static displays. We’re trying to get different organizations out here to provide other things to look at.”
In a January report to the City Council, Chambless said he chose Memorial Day Weekend as the date for the air show because it wouldn’t conflict with other, similar shows in the region.
There is the California International Air Show, which features jets and acrobatic flying at Salinas Municipal Airport in October, and the Watsonville fly-in event that primarily focuses on antique planes. The latter event previously was held on Memorial Day weekend, but was moved to Labor Day because of weather concerns.
The Hollister Airport has hosted “friendly fly-ins” over the years, including some in the early 1980s that made marginal profits, according to Chambless’s report.
“There is broad support for the event at the airport and among the tenants that I have spoken to,” he said. “The atmosphere of this event would be more like an open house.”
A steering committee has been formed to work out the particulars of the air show, including admission cost, promotion, hours and how to get the community involved. A successful event this year could lead to it becoming an annual occurrence, perhaps upgrading to a Category 2 event in which acrobatic World War II aircraft would perform. Such a show would require additional clearance between spectators and the performing aircraft, which is added expense because of the need to create a reference line on the runway for pilots.
Calstar will have a helicopter on display at the Memorial Day weekend event and Chambless said he expects to attract food and other vendors by selling 10-foot by 10-foot booth spaces for $25. No alcohol will be sold at the event.
Organizers expect to spread the word about the Hollister air show through pilot’s newsletters, air show Web sites, an e-mail to an airport managers’ association and posters in town. Chambless said he may also set up a Web site to promote the event.
