Inagurual Elizabethton Aviation Club Car show set for Saturday
Published 11:41 am Friday, April 20, 2018
Automobile enthusiasts are invited to attend the first annual student-judged Elizabethton Aviation Club Car Show this Saturday, April 21. The Elizabethton High School Top Gun Aviators Club is hosting the event at the school from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. to support their annual trips.
Those interested in entering a vehicle should arrive at 8 a.m. with a $10 entry fee. All makes, models and years are welcome. First, second and third place prizes will be awarded. There is no cost to attend the event without entering a vehicle.
The premier event sponsor is Street’s HVAC Services, followed by Birchfield Tire and Recapping, Big John’s Closeouts, J’s Corner, Mimi’s Cookies and Creamery, Brumit Sports, and The Vinyl Frontier. Those entering their vehicles to be judged will also be entered to win giveaway items including a City Market Gift Card, Autozone Auto Cleaning Supplies, and Mimi’s Cookies and Creamery Coupons.
Funds raised from the event will benefit the club’s annual trips to locations like the National Museum of the US Air Force, Tennessee Museum of Aviation, Bell Helicopter, Tri-Cities Airport, and technical college’s aviation programs. This year, students went on the first-ever field trip to the National Museum of the USAF, which they said was an amazing experience to learn not only about the progression of aviation, but its role in American history.
“It shows you what the possibilities are in aviation, and you can see that these people started in these positions and worked their way into their jobs as engineers and other careers,” said student Sage Simerly.
At the museum, students toured 21 acres of airplanes and traversed the history of aviation from the Wright brothers to the SR-71 and other advanced technology. They saw missiles, nuclear weapons, space food, decommissioned Air Force Ones, Predator Drone and other satellites and drones.
The aviation club meets once a month during school and is open to aviation students. A total of seven aviation students have flown solo after graduation, and many have gone on to pursue careers in the field.
