Following a one-year hiatus, DeKalb-Peachtree Airport (KPDK) near Atlanta will host its Good Neighbor Day Air Show and Open House in September 2026.
Set for Sept. 19, the 2026 event will celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, according to organizers.
For more than four decades, Good Neighbor Day has connected DeKalb-Peachtree Airport with the local community. Now entering a new phase of growth, the event will evolve into a full-day aviation celebration featuring expanded aerial demonstrations, a new STEM Expo, and night air show. These additions aim to promote aviation education, support economic development, and inspire the next generation of aviators, organizers added.
“We are excited to bring back our air show,” said Hunter Hines, airport director. “Due to airport construction, we were unable to hold the show last year. Good Neighbor Day has become an Atlanta tradition and the longest-running air show in the region. We look forward to welcoming families and aviation enthusiasts once again.”
DeKalb-Peachtree Airport has deep military roots. A century ago, the site was part of Camp Gordon, a U.S. Army training base during World War I. In 1940, the U.S. Navy acquired part of the land, commissioning it as a Naval Reserve Air Field the following year. From 1941 to 1959, Naval Air Station Atlanta trained hundreds of aviators and Navy personnel.
The airport’s air show legacy dates back to 1947, when the Blue Angels performed in their F8F Bearcats. In the early 1980s, KPDK launched the Good Neighbor Day Air Show and Open House.
“What began as a modest community fly-in has grown into one of the region’s best-attended aviation events,” continued Hines. “Looking ahead, our goal is to build on that success by expanding the aerial programming and introducing a dedicated STEM Expo to inspire students, young professionals, and families. By strengthening the educational component and enhancing the spectator experience, Good Neighbor Day can serve as a regional model for how aviation events promote awareness, opportunity, and civic engagement.”
The new format will feature a daytime STEM Expo, static aircraft displays, followed by an afternoon and evening program including air show performances, a night air show, a drone light show, and fireworks. Gates will open at 1 p.m. and the event will last until 9 p.m.
For more information: PDKAirshow.org
Stop squandering opportunities. Wow. More uneducated drivel.
This comes from the Georgia DOT.
With an average of nearly 600 takeoffs and landings per
day in 2010, PDK is the second busiest airport in Georgia,
surpassed only by Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International.
Its location makes it the airport of choice for corporate,
business, and general aviation aircraft visiting the Atlanta
metropolitan area. More than 20 major employers in the
area base their corporate flight departments at PDK,
including Waffle House, Southern Company, Quikrete,
Rollins Corporation, and AvGroup. With 13 flight schools
located on the field, flight training is a common activity
at PDK. PDK also supports aerial inspections and
photography, law enforcement flights, military training,
Civil Air Patrol, and emergency medical evacuation. The
airport promotes community and youth outreach through
an annual air show, attracting upwards of 14,000 attendees.
Angel Flight and many air ambulance operators frequently
use PDK for patient transfers, further enhancing the local
area’s quality of life.
Airports connect Georgia’s citizens and businesses to
the rest of the state, our nation, and the global economy.
DeKalb-Peachtree Airport plays a vital role in supporting
the region with 1,834 jobs with an annual payroll of
$67,280,300, and $211,745,300 in economic output for the
local and regional economies.
Seems like PDK is “paying it’s fair share” and the Commissioners are well aware of the huge
economic impact of the airport that was, well, here we go, there LONG before Mr. Snyder was.
Long live PDK!
KPDK airport is NOT a good neighbor and saying so doesn’t make it true. The airport has no concern for the thousands of homes that surround them and refuse to vector VFR pilots away from sensitive areas. DeKalb county is in need of housing and business and this 755+ acre general aviation airport, inside the perimeter of the fastest growing region in the South, could be redistributed to other area general aviation airports in the area. This would allow development that would serve ALL residents in the county and not deprive the pilots and PDK staff of anything. County commissioners need to wake up and stop squandering the opportunity to develop this valuable county owned land.
Gotta ask…what was there first, the neighborhood or the airport? Why do people move close to an airport and then complain about the noise? Does the county really “NEED” more humans overcrowding that particular Atlanta area?
It was a Naval Air station in 1941, and opened as a civil airport in 1957…I’m sure very few house then.
It’s a county airport, so they were/ are responsible for the ‘urban sprawl’ around the airport.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeKalb%E2%80%93Peachtree_Airport
It appears to have little to no safety zone off the ends of the runways….so there will be aircraft noise.
There are a number of former military airports here in northern CA, that are now non-tower GA use, but the cities and counties defined large, safety zones around them.