Family Fun at Flite Fest 2015
Written by Matt Ruddick Event coverage of FliteFest 2015
During a four-day stretch in the middle of July, the small town of Malvern, Ohio, nearly quadrupled in size when the second annual Flite Fest was held at the 1/2-mile-long private Furey Airport. The event, organized and hosted by the crew at Flite Test, drew an estimated 900 pilots and nearly 4,000 attendees during the four days of open flight.
Although the weather only gave its full cooperation on Saturday, it didn’t deter any of the kids who filled the two 100-foot build tents during the rain stints. While the rain fell, the crowds of volunteers tirelessly kept the event moving, and the kids were hard at work gluing, taping, and designing the aircraft that they would race out to fly after once the skies cleared. Austin Furey, marketing manager at Flite Test, said that of the 900 pilots who attended, roughly 100 of those were under the age of 12. The event also saw a large increase in entire family participation, as well.
The Flite Test host, Josh Bixler, told us one of the most aggressive messages they communicate through their programming is for “families to do things together.” This message was well received among those who attended Flite Fest this year, where you were hard-pressed to find many father-and-son duos on the flightline. Instead, this event featured fathers, sons, mothers, and daughters—all working together and having a great time. That great time is one Josh plans to bring to Ontario, California, in January at the AMA Expo. During their live podcast recording at Flite Fest, it was announced that the cast and crew will be guests at the 2016 AMA Expo and will be helping with the AMA Flight School Build Area, as well as taking to the Speaker Stage for a Q&A session.
Look for more coverage from Flite Fest 2015 in an upcoming issue of Model Aviation magazine.
5 comments
Flite Test
Flite Fest 2015
Compliment
Really good to see the AMA
Flite Fest 2015
Add new comment