NYS Darren McGee, Fishing on Long Island

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday May 24, 2005

AVIATION ENTHUSIASTS TAKE FLIGHT TO LONG ISLAND

Contact:  Kristen Matejka   
Director of Marketing and
Communications
LICVB&SC
631 951-3900 xt. 317

 

AVIATION ENTHUSIASTS TAKE FLIGHT TO LONG ISLAND FOR MEMORIAL DAY EVENTS, OTHER AREA ATTRACTIONS

Memorial Day Air Shows Scheduled At Long Island’s Jones Beach, American Airpower Museum, And Eisenhower Park

HAUPPAUGE, NY- (May 24, 2005)- A spectacular Memorial Day weekend air show, featuring the world class United States Air Force Thunderbirds performing a precision demonstration over the Atlantic Ocean at Jones Beach State Park, Long Island, is just one of the many attractions that will draw aviation enthusiasts to Long Island this summer.

Exciting events are also planned at the American Airpower Museum and Eisenhower Park.

Long Island is also home to two major aviation museums that aptly reflect the region’s rich aeronautic history  The Cradle of Aviation Museum on Charles Lindbergh Blvd. in Garden City, and the American Airpower Museum on New Highway in Farmingdale.
For the more daring aviation buffs, Long Island is also home to sky diving schools, glider plane rides, balloon rides and site seeing planes.

The Bethpage Federal Credit Union New York Air Show May 31, 2005 at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh will launch the summer season as it pays tribute to America’s armed forces. All branches of the military will be present at the event, offering military ground displays and demonstrations.

In addition to the Thunderbirds, other performances at Jones Beach are expected to include a B-17 Yankee Lady Bomber; Team Oracle; Department of Defense Parachute Team; S-3 Vikings; 106th Rescue Wing of the NY National Guard; Grumman Avenger; P-51 Mustang paratrooper transport; C-47 Airborne Transport; and additional civilian and Department of Defense aircraft and performances. Last year, the Air Show at Jones Beach attracted some 286,000 visitors over the two-day event.

Also Memorial Day weekend, the B-17 Yankee Lady will be at the American Airpower Museum (AAM) on New Highway in Farmingdale Friday and Monday. Half-hour flight experiences are available aboard this magnificently restored Flying Fortress, and aboard a C-47 transport plane, by contacting the AAM. Other exciting demonstrations and activities are planned for the entire weekend. Many of the planes appearing at the Jones Beach Air Show will be stationed at the AAM.

Within hangars built during World War II, the American Airpower Museum is filled with operational warplanes from that era and is staffed with volunteers in authentic period flight gear. The museum also offers a 1940s style control tower and visitor access to a fleet of vintage automobiles and trucks. The American Airpower Museum is also taking reservations for flights in a C-47 transport plane on D-Day, June 5th and has other scheduled fly-ins planned during the season.

On the 28th of May at 10:30 AM in Eisenhower Park, the U.S. Marine Corp. will present a demonstration consisting of two helicopters approaching a landing zone, doing a fly-by and coming in fast. The Marines will rappel out and do a “mock assault.”  The public will be up close to watch our nation’s heroes in action. The public will be allowed to approach after the display.

Aviation enthusiasts will also enjoy a visit to the Cradle of Aviation Museum. The modern Cradle of Aviation Museum on Charles Lindbergh Blvd. in Garden City traces the history of flight, from its earliest days to man’s first attempts to reach the moon. Through a myriad of interactive, hands-on displays, as well as extensive collection of 70 legendary planes, including one that belonged to Charles Lindberg, the museum rivals the collection of the Smithsonian. Lindbergh took the first transatlantic flight from Long Island. Various outposts within the Cradle of Aviation museum feature WWII reels showing actual air footage, while a modern IMAX theater, the largest in New York State, brings visitors into the action through various changing feature films. The museum also features the prototype Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) engineers at Long Island’s Grumman Aerospace built for testing before the actual LEM was used in man’s first visit to the moon.

For visitors who want to get even more involved in aviation action, several Long Island companies offer flights in site seeing planes, motorless gliders, balloon rides and parachuting at Suffolk County Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach and Calverton Airport.

Long Island has a rich history in flight kept alive through a range of attractions that draw visitors far and near. From family-friendly museums and attractions, to historical sites, sophisticated wine tasting, golfing, shopping, festivals, antiques and Long Island’s famed beaches and lighthouses, Long Island is a vacationer’s paradise. 

The Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau and Sports Commission (LICVB &SC) was established in 1979 as a marketing arm for the destination’s nearly $5 billion travel and tourism industry. Based on Long Island in Hauppauge, NY, the LICVB & SC contributes to the economic development and quality of life on Long Island by promoting Long Island as a world-class destination and by attracting individuals, tours, meetings and conventions, trade shows, sporting events, related activities and business to Long Island. For more information about Long Island, please contact the Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau and Sports Commission by calling 1-877-FUN-ON-LI or visit the web site at http://www.funonli.com.

330 Motor Parkway, Suite 203, Hauppauge, NY 11788  (631) 951-3900   www.funonli.com


 

Get Your FREE
Travel Guide

Search Our Website

Join Our Newsletter!

Receive Long Island news and special offers.
Click to learn more!