In a not-so-typical holiday celebration, a line of eager children waved and cheered as Santa flew overhead in the next best thing to a sleigh, a small four-seater airplane.
After looping around in the sky, the plane landed and taxied up to kids chanting “Santa! Santa! Santa!” Out stepped a jolly, lanky Santa Claus, followed by a tall elf and a hefty reindeer, who flew the prop (propeller) plane. Before taking photos and hearing what presents the children wished for, they gathered around as Santa read “A Night Before Christmas.”
This was part of the annual Santa Fly-In event at the Van Nuys Airport on Saturday, Dec. 14, when airport staff invited the community to take tours of the airport and view aircraft up close.
“It’s a great opportunity for our neighbors, that are directly across the street from the Van Nuys Airport, or in the San Fernando Valley, to come onto the airfield and see helicopters and planes, and also take a tour around the airport and see it firsthand,” said airport manager Jacob Haik.
Families were encouraged to bring toys to support the Mid Valley Family YMCA’s annual toy drive. They decorated aircraft-shaped ornaments and visited with dogs dressed in reindeer antlers and Santa hats from the PUPs (pets unstressing passengers) program.
“I decided to bring the kids because they always ask about the airport, so I thought it would be fun for them to actually be able to get on it [the airfield],” said local resident Sherry Sayari. “It was nice to see everything up close and learn some history about something that’s literally in our backyard.”
On display were the Condor Squadron, helicopters from Helinet that transport doctors and organs to hospitals, an airport firefighting truck rig and a variety of smaller Cessnas and prop planes.
Los Angeles Flight Academy and other flight schools even invited families to sit in the cockpit and experience what it’s like to fly a small airplane.
“Just being around these aircrafts, creates that excitement,” said Haik. “And in some cases, it sparks something, an interest, and kids or young adults want to choose a path in aviation.”
This was the second year the event has been held on the actual airfield, said event organizer Nicole Carcel, director of Community Relations at LA World Airports for LAX and Van Nuys Airport.
“Aviation in general is an island,” said Carcel. “For some of the families here today, this is the first time they’ve ever been at an airport, let alone on an airplane.
“What we have been trying to do, is have more community events where you can bring in the community to visit and experience the airfield,” she added.
Haik believes these types of events provide the community access to airport staff and help demystify what goes on inside the walls of the airport.
“We need to connect on a personal level with our neighbors,” said Haik. “When you have these security fences, sometimes they’re not sure what’s happening back there … but now they can come in and see it for themselves.”