A unique tour over the skies of Kansas which first got off the ground nearly a century ago is taking off later this week. Organizers say the Fly Kansas Air Tour is back bigger than ever. Along the way it will land in Salina for an overnight stop.
According to the Kansas Commission on Aerospace Education, the Fly Kansas Air tour originally began in 1928 to demonstrate the fledgling aviation industry across the state. The tour was restarted in 2008 as a commemorative event to pay homage to the “Air Capital of the World” and aviation clusters around the state of Kansas. Today, the event reaches local communities across the state to promote interest in aviation with a focus on aviation education, pilot camaraderie, and industry development.
The success of the commemorative event in 2008 led to the creation of an inaugural event in partnership with the Kansas Department of Transportation, Division of Aviation in 2014 that is now in its fifth and largest year yet.
The tour has expanded from a handful of pilots, to over 50 individual airplanes visiting local airports across the state. The tour typically visits at least 10 airports across western, central, and eastern Kansas, with events or local community involvement planned at each.
The 2021 Air Tour visits 9 unique Kansas airports over the course of a weekend in the sky.
Participants are welcome to fly the whole route, or join in for specific stops. Stops include:
- Wellington
- Fort Scott
- Allen County
- Lawrence
- Clay County
- Phillipsburg
- Salina
- Concordia
- Beech Factory
