Event Marks Georgia’s First Airplane Flight A Bicycle Shop Owner Flew His Plane in a Cow Pasture 100 Years Ago.

The 100th anniversary of Georgia’s first airplane flight will be celebrated from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, at McKinnon St. Simons Island Airport.

The free family event, Adventures in Aviation: A Celebration of 100 years of Flight in Georgia, is sponsored by the Glynn County Airport Commission.

The event will feature food, exhibits, displays of vintage aircraft, activities for children, a bouncy walk, tethered hot air balloon rides and a movie. Some of the activities will be inside hangars, in case of rain.

Ken Blackburn, who has been in the Guinness Book of World Records for time aloft for paper airplanes, will demonstrate the art of making successful paper airplanes, give a demonstration and hold a contest for longest time aloft. The winners will receive prizes.

The Disney movie The Flight of the Navigator will be shown in a large hangar at 7 p.m. to cap the day’s activities. Families are invited to bring their own beach chairs, but free popcorn and soda will be served.

Georgia’s first powered flight took place in 1907, when bicycle shop owner Ben Epps flew his own aircraft in a cow pasture near Athens. Early pilots in Glynn County used the St. Simons Island beach as a landing strip.

“Although the event is being held at McKinnon, this is a county- wide celebration,” said commission Chairwoman Marie Dodd.

The airport dates to 1938 and was the first commercial airport in Glynn County, she said.

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