Max B Swisher Skyhaven Airport Expo

Additional Information

The University of Central Missouri’s Max B. Swisher Skyhaven Airport will host the Max B. Swisher Skyhaven
Airport Expo Saturday, June 2. The event, planned for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will offer the public an opportunity to tour the airport
facilities while experiencing a variety of activities related to aviation.  The expo will open with the national anthem, followed by a flyover at
10:15 a.m. by a pair of A-10 Thunderbolt jets from the 303rd Fighter Squadron, part of the 442nd Operations Group at Whiteman Air Force
Base. Piloting the planes will be graduates of UCM’s aviation program. A highlight of the event will be “Extreme Flight,” an aerial
performance by Patrick McAlee of St. Louis, flying the Blue Demon, a custom-designed biplane. Performing at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., McAlee
will execute a variety of precision aerobatics. McAlee, who took his first aerobatic flight at the age of seven, was a commercial pilot at
18, a certified mechanic at 21, and an airline captain at 26. He has trained at the Tutima Academy with Sean Tucker and had logged more
than 10,000 total hours in more than 30 different aircraft by the age of 31.

    For a nominal fee, Johnny Rowlands, veteran helicopter pilot and traffic reporter for KMBC-TV, Channel 9 in Kansas City, will be on
hand provided helicopter rides, and the UCM hot air balloon will provide tethered balloon rides, weather and wind conditions
permitting.  Also on display and available for rides will be the B-25J Mitchell World War II bomber, “Show Me,” and the Missouri National Guard will
have a static display of information and equipment. A World War I biplane also will be on display. A variety of specialty aircraft
manufacturers also will be attending, including Cirrus and Renegade light sport aviation.

Airport staff and UCM aviation faculty and students will be on hand to answer questions and provide tours of the airport. Food and beverages
will be available from a variety of local vendors, and parking will be available on site. The event is open and free to the public.
Max B. Swisher Skyhaven Airport, owned and operated by the University of Central Missouri, is located four miles west of Warrensburg on U.S.
Highway 50. The airport serves as a training facility for the university’s aviation program while also serving Johnson County, Mo.,
as a public community airport. The facility is named for Warrensburg entrepreneur and businessman Max B. Swisher, who donated the airport
and surrounding 86 acres of property to the university in 1966. Further property acquisition has expanded the airport property to more
than 400 acres. Learn more about the Max B. Swisher Skyhaven Airport and careers in
aviation at UCM by contacting the UCM Department of Aviation at
660-543-4975 or www.ucmo.edu/aviation.