Looking for free things to do in Bowling Green, KY? Aviation Heritage Park & Museum’s annual Open Cockpit returns Saturday, October 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Admission and all Open Cockpit activities are free. Food will be available for purchase from Drop It Like It’s Tot.
Open Cockpit gives aviation enthusiasts, aspiring pilots, families, and local history fans a rare opportunity to look inside AHP&M’s historic military aircraft. Viewing platforms will provide a pilot’s-eye view of the F-4 Phantom II, F-111 Aardvark, Grumman F9F Panther, T-33 Shooting Star, Sikorsky SH-3H Sea King known as Marine One, and Bell UH-1P Huey.
Because these aircraft are on loan from government agencies, visitors may look inside but cannot enter them. Knowledgeable docents, many of them pilots, will be stationed throughout the park to explain the aircraft, answer questions, and share the stories of the men and women who flew them.
Visitors can also see AHP&M’s F-105F Thunderchief, better known as the “Thud,” as it awaits restoration.
NEW THIS YEAR: MORE HANDS-ON FUN
The Butler County STEAM Bus will be outside the museum with aviation-related activities for visitors of all ages. Stations representing Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math will give participants opportunities to explore different parts of aviation through hands-on activities.
Inside the museum classrooms, young visitors can explore drone technology and try activities using Sphero programmable robots.
After exploring the aircraft outside, step into the Aviation Heritage Park Museum to discover the history of aviation heroism in south central Kentucky. Learn about local heroes at the Distinguished Aviators display, visit the Thunderbirds exhibit, explore the Hall of Heroes, and head upstairs to see the River Rats exhibit honoring aviators who served in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
Then get your camera ready. Inside the museum, visitors are invited to climb into the cockpit of Northrop T-38 Talon #901 and take the pilot’s seat.
AHP&M’s T-38 honors Bowling Green native and NASA astronaut Terry Wilcutt. T-38 aircraft have trained generations of NASA astronauts, including every astronaut who walked on the moon. The history of #901 includes members of the original Mercury Seven: Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper, Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Donald “Deke” Slayton, John Glenn, Walter Schirra, and Alan Shepard.
During Open Cockpit, you can sit in that historic seat, too.
Drop It Like It’s Tot will be outside the museum throughout the event with tater tots, hot dogs, drinks, and other food available for purchase.
Bring the family, meet the pilots and docents, explore aviation technology, and see AHP&M’s aircraft from a completely different point of view.
