Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
About 30 planes expected to take part in the event.
Pilots flying fixed-wing aircraft will begin arriving Friday afternoon at the Tucumcari Municipal Airport as part of the Route 66 Air Tour.
A fleet of small planes will launch Saturday from the Tucumcari Municipal Airport, flying above the Mother Road through New Mexico into Arizona to kick off the Route 66 Air Tour.
The air tour winging its way across the state will highlight aviators, aircraft, and significant historical events along Route 66, said Tour Coordinator Richard L. Perry.
Perry said tours like this one are older than the 90-year-old road itself, fixed-wing aviation pilots have been flying air tours to exhibit aircraft capabilities and share their passion for aviation.
Organizers expect 30 planes to participate in the tour, the fleet includes modern personal planes, antique aircraft, and home-built airplanes. Residents are encouraged to come out to the airport, view the planes and meet the pilots and crews.
Along the way the pilots and crews flying the tour will participate in community celebrations, mark commemorative events, visit local museums and historic sites, and give brief presentations highlighting the impact of aviation in New Mexico.
The tour will commemorate both the 90th anniversary of the establishment of Route 66 in New Mexico, and Gov. Susana Martinez' proclamation of February as Aviation Appreciation Month.
The Air Tour starts in Tucumcari and touches down at the New Mexico airports of Santa Rosa, Las Vegas, Moriarty, and Grants before ending at Winslow, Arizona.
Weather permitting, airplanes on the tour will start arriving between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Friday at the Tucumcari Municipal Airport. The planes will depart 9 a.m. Saturday.
The Air Tour was organized by Chapter 179 of the Experimental Aircraft Association in Albuquerque, with the assistance of the Aviation Division of the New Mexico Department of Transportation and the New Mexico Pilots Association.
The EAA was founded in 1953 by a group of individuals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin who were interested in building their own airplanes. The EAA expanded its mission of growing participation in aviation to include antiques, classics, warbirds, aerobatic aircraft, ultralights, helicopters and contemporary manufactured aircraft, and now boasts over 200,000 members worldwide. Chapter 179 was chartered in 1963 and currently has 100 members.
