Attendees tour a plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Attendees tour a plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

In the pilot’s seat

Air fair offers public opportunity to tour planes, helicopters

Children had their eyes on the sky on Saturday as they toured more than a dozen planes and a couple of helicopters during the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair, held at the Kenai Municipal Airport on Saturday.

Many parents took many photos of children taking advantage of the opportunity to sit in the cockpit of many a plane.

A few operators of helicopters and planes designed for transporting health care patients stood by their vehicles, fielding questions from wide-eyed attendees. At one helicopter, a man demonstrated how cramped the space can get with a pilot, a paramedic and a patient all along for the ride.

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Perhaps the most eye-catching exhibit was a large cargo plane, where a long line of people waited for their chance to move up and down its passageways — stopping for a seat and a photo at the controls in the front.

Also filling the space was the sound of the 11th Airborne Division Band — trumpets and trombones playing in an upbeat tone. The smell of hamburgers and hotdogs wafted from a grill by the Fire Department facility.

Other exhibits were inside the facility, booths operated by several organizations, including Kenai Aviation and the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska. Out toward the road was a car show.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.

A representative of LifeMed Alaska answers questions from a young attendee at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

A representative of LifeMed Alaska answers questions from a young attendee at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

A large plane rests on the runway at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

A large plane rests on the runway at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

A child sits inside a plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

A child sits inside a plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Two kids wait by a plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Two kids wait by a plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

A plane flies overhead as attendees view other planes displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

A plane flies overhead as attendees view other planes displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Attendees climb a stairway to tour the inside a large plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Attendees climb a stairway to tour the inside a large plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Attendees look out from a window inside a large plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Attendees look out from a window inside a large plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

A long line of attendees wait to tour the inside a large plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

A long line of attendees wait to tour the inside a large plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Attendees move down a passageway inside a large plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Attendees move down a passageway inside a large plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Two attendees sit at the controls inside a large plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Two attendees sit at the controls inside a large plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Aged controls are seen inside a large plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Aged controls are seen inside a large plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Aged controls are seen inside a large plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Aged controls are seen inside a large plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

An array of gauges fill a panel inside a large plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

An array of gauges fill a panel inside a large plane displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

A plane operated by LifeMed Alaska is displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

A plane operated by LifeMed Alaska is displayed at the Kenai Peninsula Air Fair on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

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