Rod Machado, who is on a mission to keep the fun in aviation education, is the featured speaker for the first ever Iowa PilotPalooza.
The Iowa PilotPalooza will be held June 1 at the Boone Municipal Airport (25 mi northwest of Des Moines) from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Event organizers are challenging all pilots to fly-in with a potential pilot (or two or three). In addition to numerous planes, static displays, homebuilt projects, food, and music, there will be a large tent on the airside of the airport that will host a Saturday afternoon pilot forum from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., before Rod Machado takes the stage at 6 p.m.
Grilled food will be available for purchase, but other than that, the event is completely free. Pack a cooler along in the plane with your favorite (non-alcoholic) beverage, and if you have room, bring your most comfortable lawn chair along too.
Aircraft dealers and owners looking to sell their aircraft are encouraged to bring for-sale aircraft to the event. Accordingly, this is a good place to go if you are looking to explore ownership options. There will also be some homebuilt projects on display and various interesting aircraft that are already planned for static display.
For anyone that wants to stick around, a band, overnight camping and a late-night movie will be taking place Saturday evening.
The Iowa PilotPalooza by the Iowa Aviation Promotion Group came together as a joint effort with the Iowa DOT’s Office of Aviation to hold a new event in Iowa focused on providing a pilot social activity, drawing new people into aviation, and promoting aviation safety and education. The airport in Boone was chosen for its proven ability to support large numbers of fly-in aircraft, as well as the generous effort on the part of the airport, its FBO CY Aviation, and the Boone Area Pilot’s Association to make the event a success, organizers note.