Hangar 24 has resurrected the Redlands air show two years after the annual event was canceled.
The Hangar 24 AirFest and Fifth Anniversary Celebration is set for May 18 in the tie-down area at Redlands Municipal Airport.
Brewery owner Ben Cook said his staff wanted to do something big to mark their anniversary. What could be bigger and better than an air show?
"Most of us are aviation freaks," said Cook, who is a pilot himself.
Hangar 24, located in a former hangar across the street from the airport, was involved in the previous air show, before it was abruptly canceled.
The trouble arose over $4,600 in fees that the city required the show to pay shortly before the show was about to take place. Organizers said they didn't have the money but could pay the fees out of their proceeds after the show was over.
City officials initially agreed, but later decided that money had to be paid in advance. Dennis Brown, the air boss, canceled the show just days before it was to take place.
City staff asked the council to approve a fee waiver for the show, but Brown said it was too late and he couldn't undo the cancellation.
The additional fees were for more police and fire protection for the show, city spokesman Carl Baker said at the time. There had been recent crashes at other air shows and one near the Redlands airport as well.
FEE WAIVER
This time, the Redlands City Council agreed to waive about $19,000 in fees. The costs cover the presence of police officers, fire engines and paramedics at the air show as well as other municipal services.
"The city has been over-the-top helpful," Cook said. "Without their help, I don't know if we'd be able to put this on."
Councilman Paul Foster said it was a shame that Redlands had lost its air show for a couple of years after hitting some bumps in the road.
"I'm glad those have been resolved," he said.
The city's Airport Advisory Board has endorsed the event and Wayne Reid, who served on the previous air show committee, is helping to organize it.
Hangar 24 Charities is presenting the AirFest as its first event. The nonprofit was organized to preserve the remaining citrus industry in Southern California. Cook said all proceeds will go to the charity for the purchase of orange groves.
BIGGER AND BETTER
The goal is to make the show bigger and better than before, Cook said.
Among the spectacles will be a comedy/aerobatic routine, performed with the plane's engine turned off. The pilot ends the routine by landing on an RV.
There also will be fireworks, fired off from an airplane.
The show will include local bands, entertainment for children, food vendors and, of course, Hangar 24 beer. The brewery will have 30 beers on tap, including regular Hangar 24 brews, archive beers and a fifth anniversary beer that will be released at the show, Cook said.
"It's been in the barrel a long time," he said.
The Hangar 24 testing room will be open during the show.
Parking will be available at the airport and a shuttle will run from the former Redlands Mall downtown, where the city owns the parking lot. That connection will encourage people to visit downtown before or after the show, Cook said.
Events like AirFest "are tremendous economic generators for the city," Foster said.
They bring people to Redlands who stay in hotels, eat at restaurants and shop in the stores. They also introduce visitors to the city, and in many cases those visitors come back, he said.
Follow Erin Waldner on Twitter @PE_ErinWaldner and online at blog.pe.com/Redlands
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