Wings Over the Wine Country Airshow 2006 Make and Take
Location: Santa Rosa, California
Date: August 19-20, 2006
Commentary: Doug Dropeskey
Photographer: John Admire
Every year, the Pacific Coast Air Museum sponsors a two day airshow called Wings Over the Wine Country at the Sonoma County Airport. On the ground, the airshow features displays of military aircraft, vintage planes, CDF assets, and National Guard vehicles. Some of these aircraft fly in from very distant parts of the country. In the air, the airshow includes acrobatic demonstrations by civilian and military aircraft combined with a large number of commemorative flights and flybys. The event draws large crowds of adults and children interested in planes, helicopters, military equipment, and machines in general. Attendance at the 2006 airshow exceeded 25,000 people.
In 2006, IPMS Santa Rosa made its first official appearence at Wings Over the Wine Country. Participation in the event enabled the club to increase public awareness, give back to the community, bring kids into the hobby, and potentially attract new members. In many respects, these results mirror those of IPMS Santa Rosa's annual Hobby Expo, but with a much larger if less targeted audience. In fact, Hobby Expo and Wings Over the Wine Country now serve as the two major cornerstones of IPMS Santa Rosa involvement with the community.
Club involvement in the event, organized by President Chris Zanella, Vice President John Admire, and HobbyTown owner Steve Elliot, included three major elements--signs and flyers with information about the club, a display with models by club members, and a free Make and Take area for kids. During the airshow, club members such as John Boes, Ken Lawerence, and Mike Winters handed out flyers, discussed models on display, and answered questions about IPMS Santa Rosa. The Make and Take area offered an opportunity for each child to select a free, snap-fit model and build it with the assitance of a parent or club member. Though many club members assisted with Make and Take, parents were encouraged to help their children in the construction process. During the two day show, children built over 250 models including A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, F/A-18 Hornets, SR-71 Blackbirds, and Chevy Impala Police cars. The fact that Hornets and Thunderbolts actually flew during the airshow help forge the link between real aircraft and models for the kids. The extremely popular Make and Take area, open each day from 10am to 2pm, remaining packed throughout the event. In fact, demand exceeded the supply of models available.
Public comments were extremely positive regarding all three aspects of the IPMS Santa Rosa display, especially the Make and Take area. On both days, long lines of children waited patiently to build free models while club members remained busy answering questions and helping out. With regards to organization, the event proceeded like clockwork. In terms of goodwill and exposure for the club, the event was a smashing success. We look very forward to participating in the 2007 Wings Over the Wine Country Airshow and repeating this wonderful experience.
The club would like to extend thanks to the Pacific Coast Air Museum for hosting WIngs over the Wine Country and providing space in the vendor area to IPMS Santa Rosa at a significantly reduced rate.
The club would also like to thank Steve Elliot of HobbyTown for providing models for the Make and Take at steeply reduced prices. Steve also provided many of the tables and all of the chairs.
Thanks also to John Clements, President of IPMS Mount Diablo, who contributed tables for the event.
Special thanks go out to Cathy, Michelle, and Tim Admire, all of whom helped out during the show. Cathy and Michelle also donated all of the decorations for the IPMS Santa Rosa space and made all the club signs by hand.
Special thanks also go out to Jean and Cameron Elliot for manning the tables and helping out during the show.
We would also like to thank event organizers Chris Zanella, John Admire, and Steve Elliot, all of whom provided the impetus to make this happen.
And finally, thank you to all the club members who helped put the club display together, loaned models, handed out flyers, answered questions, assisted with Make and Take, and bought lunch: Paul Anderson, Tom Berto, John Boes, Dale Bohling, Randy Bumgardner, Ken Lawerence, and Mike Winters
For more pictures of the actual airshow, including some awesome pictures of a C-17 in flight, please visit the Wings Over the Wing Country 2006 photo album by John Admire.
For more information about the event please see the following:
After Action Press Release (Short Version) by Chris Zanella
After Action Press Release (Long Version) by Chris Zanella
Airshow Update by Chris Zanella
Event (select a picture to view at full size):
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| Quiet before the storm--a selection of models from IPMS Santa Rosa members, on display for the airshow crowd. | The IPMS Santa Rosa tables and club information display. | Club activity focused around "Make and Take", an opportunity for kids to build free models (donated by Steve Elliot, owner of HobbyTown in Petaluma). | ||
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| Models by Chris Zanella on the diplay table. | Michael Wittman's last ride, a Tiger I tank by John Admire. | |||
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| Many members provided models for the display area. | Chris Zanella helps a young lady with a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. | |||
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| Steve Elliot helps another young lady build a McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet. | ||||
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| Time to add the decals. | ||||
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| A young lady proudly displays her finished model. | This young lady also looks very pleased with her finished work. | |||
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| Randy Bumgardner assists in the construction of a Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II. | Steve Elliot helps a young man take on yet another Hornet. | |||
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| This young man is building a Chevy Impala Police car with his dad. Parents were encouraged to join in the building process. | As the day went on, traffic at the Make and Take table started to build. | |||
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| Dale Bohling, on the far right, stopped by and bought lunch for everyone. | ||||
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| Cathy and Michelle Admire, in addition to volunteering at the airshow, secured all of the decorations and made all of the event signs by hand. | ||||
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| Tim Admire helps a Make and Take participant assemble an F/A-18 Hornet. | ||||
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| Steve Elliot, Mike Winters, and their boys take a break. | Mike Winters and his son at the Make and Take table. | |||
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| SF3D walker by Chris Zanella | ||||
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| The Monkee Mobile by Chris Zanella. Davy Jones actually gave the model to Chris during a guest appearence at a car show. After Chris built the model, he met Davy Jones a second time, and the star graciously put his thumbprint on the windshield of the car. | Michael Wittman's last ride, Tiger I 007 by John Admire | |||
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| This young man displays a finished F/A-18 Hornet, completed with the assistance of his mom. | ||||
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| The Elliot clan including Cameron, Steve, and Jean help out at the Make and Take table. Paul Anderson also assisted at the event. | ||||
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