Free Florida Tech Aviation Day Sept. 24: 5K Races, Rides, Displays, Breakfast, Raffle and More

MELBOURNE, FLA. –Florida Tech’s annual Aviation Day, Sept. 24, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. will be bigger and better than ever before. Added are a raffle, silent auction, 5K Run, 5K Walk and special fly-in guest Joe Hurston whose Canaveral Groves home was the subject of the Extreme Makeover TV program last winter. Admission and parking are free at the Emil Buehler Center for Aviation Training and Research.

The 5K Run and 5K Walk start at 7:30 a.m. Information about these events and what’s going on all day is available at www.fitaviationday.com.

The team that transformed Joe Hurston’s home for Extreme Makeover also refurbished his personal airplane, a Cessna Turbo 337 (N19EZ). Hurston and his plane will be present all day on Sept. 24 and he will demonstrate a short field take-off performance.

Guests will see military, civilian and homebuilt aircraft and displays. Aircraft include a World War II WACO biplane with “stick and rudder.” There will also be educational booths, refreshments, biplane rides for $75/person and a children’s fun area.

Most notable will be the silent auction of a two-foot-high Space Shuttle replica signed by 18 astronauts. To bid, call Nick Galli at (321) 674-7369 or bid in person at Aviation Day. The bidding starts at $500.

Also to be raffled are a Piper Aircraft bomber jacket and 18”x24”photo of Space Shuttle Atlantis when the boosters are separating.

The Emil Buehler Center is located at 801 Harry Goode Way, adjacent to Melbourne International Airport, off NASA Blvd., near the control tower. For more information, visit the web site above or call (321) 674-8238.