On May 9, 2009, The City of Cloverdale hosted the first ever Open House at the Cloverdale Municipal Airport. The event was a cooperative effort by the City of Cloverdale, Quality Sport Planes, the Cloverdale Pilot’s Association, and yours truly-NorCal Skydiving.
The Open House was well attended by residents of Cloverdale and Sonoma County, private pilots from hundreds of miles away, and aviation enthusiasts of all ages.
EAA Young Eagles offered free airplane rides to children ages 7-17. The Young Eagles had seven aircraft dedicated for rides and they were flying from 9:00 a.m. till 1:00 p.m. Almost 50 children got to experience the wonder and excitement of flying above this scenic location.
The highlight of the day for NorCal was taking Vice Mayor Carol Russell for her first Tandem Skydive. I must say that it was one of the most memorable jumps of my career. Carol and I had a successful jump and landed softly to the delight of hundreds of spectators. The Vice Mayor was quoted in the local paper saying, “It was love at first Flight.”
All in all, the event was very successful, and NorCal looks forward to participating in many Airport Open House events in the coming years.