The Oakdale Airport Appreciation Day hosted on Sunday, April 23, couldn’t have asked for better weather for the event celebrating women in aviation, offering free airplane rides to kids under 17 as part of the Young Eagles program.
The event, featuring women speakers influential in the aviation field from airport managers, pilots, and aeronautical professionals, kept the community engaged as the sound of small planes taxiing down the runway filled the spring air, and the food trucks kept people happy.
Oakdale City Councilmember Christopher Smith said of the event, “This is a great thing to bring the community together. It’s completely free. It brings everybody in Oakdale out for free flights, a car show that I didn’t even realize was out here at the same time, and this is something that we used to do once a year. I’m glad we’re back to doing it again.”
At one time, the Oakdale Airport used to be a social hub for the community, hosting dances and creating the local hang-out scene. Times have changed, but with recent improvements to the airport, more plans to encourage more vibrant community involvement are coming.
In the meantime, free airplane rides to the next generation remains a great way to spark a future interest in aviation.
April Theodore, an Oakdale resident, who brought her daughter Arden and a young friend to the event, said, “I’m excited for them. Their dad is taking pilot lessons and my son wants to fly so I figured why not let the girls get a chance to see if they want to fly, too … I think women can be great pilots.”
Pilot James Davis was one of many who came out to enjoy the event, sharing how important it was to create more awareness about the local airport.
“Over the years, I’ve had several people telling me that they didn’t even know there was an airport in Oakdale,” Davis pointed out.
A love of aviation is what keeps local airports alive and future aviators are always needed.
“You have to have a heart for it,” Davis said. “Some people don’t like turbulence, but when they get off the ground, it’s a whole different story.”
Six pilots kept the planes coming and going and each child who went up in the air, received a Young Eagle log book and a certificate signed by the pilot.
