Mark your calendars for September 2 & 3rd, 2023, Labor Day Weekend, that’s when Genesee County will experience their first airshow in 25 years at the Genesee County Airport.
Link to website below:
Wings Over Batavia Air Show – An Airshow like you’ve never seen before.
In a get together of community members at the Zeliff Hangar at the airport on Thursday evening, Pete Zeliff introduced the crew who has been assembled to promote and put on an airshow like no other. The Wings Over Batavia Air Show will feature modern military aircraft, warbirds and world champion aerobatic performers. Air show fans will also experience night shows with choreographed fireworks and aerobatic performances.
Pete Zeliff with Fiancé Doreen Hillard. The couple met a year and a half ago at an aviation convention in Las Vegas. They were in a business group talking about bringing airshows back to communities.
“I just retired last year to come here and help with the show,” says Hillard.
“I know all the acts really well, I’ve known them for thirty years plus. I worked at the Oshkosh Airshow since the early 80s.” With Hillard’s connections in Oshkosh, Dennis Dunbar was hired as the Airshow Director, he has been involved with organizing shows for over 30 years and also worked in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Zeliff’s goal is to bring the community together with the show and expose kids to the field of aviation.
“My aspirations to bring this airshow back to Batavia hinges a lot on the kids and introducing kids to aviation,” says Zeliff.
“I do the aviation camp every year for 9th and 10th graders. We bring them in here for a week, we fly them every day, do ground schools, and a lot of the community participates in that. Free meals for the kids donated by local restaurants, and these kids are logging 22 hours in their logbooks, they’re actually flying with flight instructors, you only need 40 hours to get your license. By the end of the week, I have them doing a roll, a loop by themselves. Kids are what my real aspiration is in this.”
Zeliff went on to mention several kids who experienced the airshow in Batavia in 1998 that eventually made a career of working in aviation.
So far $100,000 has been raised for the airshow. Pete Zeliff has put in close to $60,000. The budget for the event is $600.000. The group is looking for sponsors and volunteers from WNY.
Anyone interested in sponsorship opportunities can follow this link Sponsorship – Wings Over Batavia Air Show
Want to volunteer? Follow this link Volunteer – Wings Over Batavia Air Show
