Pumpkins dropped at annual aviation showcase

The sound of engines can be heard before a plane emerges above the treeline, drawing eyes looking for a small orange pumpkin to come tumbling out of the sky — moments before it collides with the earth in a satisfying splat.

It’s the Sixth Annual Pumpkin Drop, hosted by Kenai Aviation at the Kenai Airpark down Kalifornsky Beach Road on Saturday, Oct. 19. For years, the event has taken the fall season literally — as a procession of planes pour pumpkins out into a field before dozens of onlookers.

In addition to providing attendees with spectacle of each splatted pumpkin, pilots were competing to see who could land their cargo closest to a target dozens of feet below on the ground. It was the duo of Liam and Adelaide Barry who claimed top honors on Saturday, landing a pumpkin only 12.1 yards away from the target. Rounding out the top three were Scott Smith, who dropped only 12.7 yards away, and Chad Yoshitomi, who landed 18.0 away.

This year, Kenai Aviation owner Joel Caldwell said on Saturday, organizers decided to drop the chili cook-off. That’s because the event has grown so large — last year, it drew hundreds to the cook-off in Kenai and hundreds to the airpark for the actual pumpkin drop. Instead, this year all the focus was on the drop, with bonfires ready to keep attendees warm and food trucks at the ready.

The change was a success, Caldwell said. There were “hundreds of people” at the park to see 24 airplanes drop around 40 pumpkins.

The event, Caldwell said, is a showcase of the aviation talent in the community — something Kenai Aviation has worked to nurture. Many of the pilots who dropped pumpkins on Saturday came through Kenai Aviation’s flight training.

“When we bought Kenai Aviation, our dream was to give Kenai its own airline again — to train up aviation professionals out of our own community instead of Kenai counting on other places to take care of our aviation needs,” Caldwell said.

In the years since Kenai Aviation started its school in 2019 — the same year the pumpkin drop started — Caldwell said they’ve seen pilots trained who went on to fly for Kenai Aviation, as well as Delta Airlines, Horizon Airlines, Grant Aviation and others.

As the event drew to a close on Saturday, the final pumpkins were dropped by some of Caldwell’s “advanced instructors,” who flew low to the ground and dropped their orange cargo only feet from the ground. That’s not what the normal drop is like, Caldwell said, where the other pilots had to drop their pumpkins from much higher in hopes of connecting gourd with target.

For more information, find “Kenai Aviation” on Facebook or visit kenaiaviation.com.

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

Sixth Annual Pumpkin Drop

1. Liam and Adelaide Barry, 12.1 yards from target; 2. Scott Smith, 12.7; 3. Chad Yoshitomi, 18.0; 4. Marshall Paulson, 18.7; 5. Alex Agosti, 21.9; 6. Will Satathite, 22.2; 7. Nick Murphy, 22.8; 8. Zach Johnston, 31.4; 9. Joel Caldwell, 35.8; 10. Vanessa and Joe, 38.4; 11. Reed Cornstad, 38.8; 12. Jake Rogers, 40.4; 13. Roi Maxwell, 45.8; 14. Lori Lindsey, 50.4; 15. Josh Riske, 50.6; 16. Jake Smith, 50.9; 17. Logan K, 60.9; 18. Lu Collver, 63.1; 19. David Machado, 69.9; 20. Paul Scoskie, 74.3; 21. Nicole and Sarah, 87.6; 22. Bill Wilcox, 84.7; 23. Zach Wells and Nicole Bell, 97.8