Aviation Day at the South Cariboo Regional Airport is ready for takeoff.
It happens on Sept. 29 at the 108 Mile facility with a full day of high-flying fun for the whole family.
The gates open at 8 a.m. and there's no admission charge. Airport manager Nick Christianson says the event was created several years ago to acquaint the public with the airport and it's just grown from there.
To start things off, the Wheelroom at the 108 Golf Resort will be serving a pancake breakfast between 8 and 11 a.m. and it is located in the parking area before you go through the gate.
Between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., the Wheelroom will offer a lunch menu, and between 6 and 7:30 p.m., the restaurant will have dinner available, but people must book ahead. The cost is $20 and tickets can be purchased at the Wheelroom or at the resort’s front desk.
Throughout the day on the tarmac, people can have a close look at a variety of aircraft that are expected to be flying in from all over British Columbia. Depending on the weather, Christianson says there may be up to 60 planes.
There will be several displays, including one by the Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School aviation program and emergency vehicles from the 108 Mile Ranch Volunteer Fire Department.
A plane will fly over the site several times throughout the day and drop candy on the tarmac for a scramble.
Helicopter rides by High Point Helicopters and airplane rides by Cariboo Air in its Cessna 182 will also be available to the public for $50.
Some of the fliers who come in for the event will be longtime bush pilots who contributed their stories to local photographer Chris Harris' newest book, Flyover British Columbia's Cariboo Chilcotin Coast. The book unfolds the colourful history of aviation in the Cariboo Chilcotin through photography and personal stories of those pilots.
Harris and his co-author Sage Birchwater will be at the airport throughout the day, launching the book, signing copies and talking to the public about it.
At 7:30 p.m. they will give a presentation in the airport hangar with slide shows and stories from the book along with a surprise show of Harris' greatest visual discovery from the air.
Following the presentation will be an evening social and dance in the hangar, where people will have a chance to talk to the authors and meet the pilots.