2024 Great Alaska Aviation Gathering
By Regan Tunstall
The Airmen have just marked another successful gathering in the books! We had quite a few changes this year to improve the event at the Alaska State Fairgrounds. The Aircraft Spruce Pavilion grew exponentially by being in the Craig Taylor building along with our career fair and new local vendors. We are also pleased to announce that Pratt and Whitney took a leading role in this year’s IA renewal event by hosting a maintenance workshop in their own tent. With hands-on training that was both informative and engaging, it was a great success! Our youth activity center also found a new home where it continues to have hands on STEM activities, a kids play area, drone flying and more. We are grateful for our hardworking volunteers committed to supporting the next generation of aviation!
There were plenty of fun activities taking place throughout the event such as the annual show and shine competition, the scholarship ceremony, seminars and the fly market to name a few. On Saturday night, everyone headed over to the airport to see an incredible performance by Hope Social Club at the new airport after party! The night wouldn’t have been successful without the help from Silver Sky and Summit Aviation. Even though some demos were cancelled during the day, due to the wind, it didn’t stop anyone from having a great time!
On Sunday, May 5th, a winner for the 2024 raffle aircraft was finally announced…congratulations to Zackary from Martin, Tennessee taking home the experimental PA-18 Super Cub built by Danchini Aero! Thank you to everyone who supports the organization by buying a ticket. Ticket purchases help us support the next generation of aviation with training programs, networking, and our scholarship program where we give out over $100,000 in scholarships every year.
Did you miss the big news at this year’s gathering? American Legend is currently working on the 2025 raffle aircraft which will be completed and revealed at Oshkosh for the first time ever! If you’re attending the event, be sure to check it out in the Lycoming booth where they have graciously donated an impressive IO-360 Thunderbolt engine to enhance this aircraft even more. If you’re unable to attend, stay tuned to our social platforms so you don’t miss out on all the excitement! In other good news, ticket sales will be opening early for a short period of time between July 22nd-28th and will reopen in November. Mark your calendars and get ready for the best raffle season yet!
