Sophie Zhang
Will Hooper, an Archer Aviation airline operator, showcases the company’s model planes to attendees of Palo Alto’s 35th Airport Day. According to Hooper, the company’s booth was meant to inform the public of its development towards clean energy flying. “We want somebody to see Archer on the news and say, ‘Oh, that’s an air taxi, that’s 20 years away,’ and we want to be here and say, ‘No, this is actually two to three years away,'” Hooper said.
White smoke trails across the sky as planes somersault in tight formation. Children climb eagerly into the cockpits of retired fighter plan. Nearby tents showcase innovative technology on the future of aviation. Unlike a typical day on the flight grounds, excitement buzzes at the Palo Alto Airport on Sunday for the 35th Airport Day.
Hundreds of people gathered near the airport’s terminal building for the free annual event that highlights the airport’s role in the community and offers front-seat aviation experiences, aiming to inspire future pilots, engineers and aviation professionals.
There were multiple booths at the event, showcasing organizations that ranged from the Scouts of America to Archer Aviation, an electric aircraft manufacturing company.
Will Hooper, an airline operator at Archer Aviation, said his company attended Airport Day to showcase its progress toward short-range sustainable air travel.
“We want to get the word out to tell people what Archer is and what we’re doing,” Hooper said. “We’re trying to build an electric air taxi.
According to Hooper, who was displaying models of Archer’s planes, electric transportation technology has been used before in other vehicles, but only recently has Archer figured out how to use the energy for its product.
“The technology has always existed with Tesla models and other EV cars,” Hooper said. “Now, we’ve assembled the right team and people to now transition from electric vehicles to now electric aircraft.”
The event also featured aircraft and helicopter displays, food trucks, children’s activities, flight engineering programs and opportunities for visitors to sit in cockpits as well as sign up for discovery flights. More than 130 volunteers — ranging from local pilots, Scouts of America, United Airlines employees and Civil Air Patrol members — showed up to help staff the event.
Palo Alto Airport Manager Andy Swanson said that Airport Day allows the public to experience the energy of one of the busiest single-runway airports in the state while sparking interest in aviation-related careers.
“It’s a chance for us to share with the public, with young individuals, to show them what we do,” Swanson said. “There are all different areas to go in this industry and Airport Day is a way to hopefully inspire someone to say, ‘Hey, that’s a great career path.’”
Bob Lennox, president of the Palo Alto Airport Association, said the event’s goal is to introduce the whole community, especially those who do not fly, to the city’s often overlooked aviation hub.
“This is to showcase the airport to the general public,” Lennox said. “This is not an event for pilots; it’s an event for folks to recognize that we have an airport in Palo Alto and that there are many things that happen here [Palo Alto].”
Swanson said that while emergency responders such as the Coast Guard and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection couldn’t attend this year due to last-minute cancellations, the airport has long played a role in disaster readiness.
“When there were the horrible fires in Los Angeles, the airports played a huge role,” Swanson said. “We want to get that message out to the community and have everybody understand that it is important to have this pavement here and the resources because we do everything from Stanford Life Flight and Angel Flight West in and out of here.”
According to Lennox, the scale of the event makes it difficult to expand beyond annually, but it is still a worthwhile effort.
“It’s hard enough to organize an event once a year,” Lennox said. “But the enthusiasm from the community makes it worth it.”