Airborne adventure
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 3 months AGO
The Moses Lake Airshow features row on row of static displays, including aircraft of all kinds and sizes for visitors to check out.
FILE PHOTO
A father and his children take in last year’s Moses Lake Airshow. The air show is the Friday and Saturday after Father’s Day this year.
A World War II-era F4U Corsair, center, flies over the 2023 Moses Lake Airshow in the company of two F-18s. The 2023 airshow attracted people from 24 states and two Canadian provinces.
Kyle Fowler speeds over the crowd in his Long EZ aircraft during the 2023 Moses Lake Airshow. The 1986 model aircraft is one of multiple Fowler pilots. He also operates a PA-31 Navajo Chieftan and a Kodiak as part of his passion for flying, according to his website, longez.ca.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | May 27, 2025 3:30 AM
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Airshow will take to the skies again June 21-22.
“Moses Lake is rapidly becoming recognized as a significant center for aviation, and we are excited to showcase the progress in general aviation, particularly the innovative field of (short takeoff and landing) aircraft,” airshow Board Chairman Carl Poteete wrote in a statement to the Columbia Basin Herald. “Our airshow provides a unique opportunity for attendees to witness the extraordinary abilities and potential of these impressive aircraft firsthand.”
This is the fifth year the air show has been held at Grant County International Airport. The show features a runway loaded with static displays of aircraft both military and civilian, small and large, for people to take an up-close look. There are also a range of veterans’ services and other informational booths spread out on the tarmac. Meanwhile, the sky above the airport will be the venue for daredevil demonstrations and competitions.
The list of performers wasn’t final on Thursday, explained Marketing Coordinator Lynnsey Evans, but the show’s website indicated that some of the performers who thrilled Moses Lake audiences in the past would return. Stunt pilots Yuichi Takagi, Kyle Fowler, Jon Melby and Brad Wursten are all expected to return, according to the website. The U.S. military will also be there, with the Air Force Globemaster III and Navy EA-18G Growlers demonstration teams and Wings of Blue, the Air Force parachute team.
Those plans are all subject to change, Evans warned.
“Things happen with weather, or the military has to go and be somewhere else at last minute,” she said.
Wursten’s show has an extra element to it, Evans said. Anyone who purchases tickets before June 1 will be automatically entered into a drawing to win a ride in Wursten’s MX aircraft MX2, a plane known for its agility and performance. Wursten began building and flying model aircraft when he was 8 years old and has logged nearly 4,000 hours in 50 different types of aircraft, he wrote in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald.
Like last year, the Short Takeoff and Landing, or STOL, competition will make Moses Lake one of the stops on its tour. In a STOL competition, pilots show off their expertise in taking off and landing within a very limited space.
“It's really great in back-country when they're out flying general aviation if you do a quick landing or an unexpected one,” Evans said. “Short takeoff and landings are skills that any pilot should know. And out of that came a competition … What's cool is, for anyone who doesn't know about STOL, or does know about STOL, or wants to get into aviation, they're all out there with their planes, and so it's easy to network with them, bounce ideas off them.”
The airshow will also host the World RC Invitational, where radio-controlled aviation enthusiasts put on a show for the fans.
Everything at the Moses Lake Airshow is family-friendly, and that’s by design, Evans said.
“There are less and less family friendly events anymore,” she said. “So we're really trying to promote that this is a family-friendly event, come on out. We'll have activities for the kids, some STEAM activities, and face painting and balloons.”
The board also tries to bring in as many local sponsors and food vendors as possible, Evans added.
Moses Lake has a long history as an aviation hub, Evans said, and last year the show drew about 8,000 attendees.
"The Moses Lake Airshow is a vital economic engine for the city and county, drawing thousands of visitors and filling our local accommodations,” Poteete wrote. “We eagerly anticipate welcoming guests from both near and far – our average attendee travels over 100 miles to be here – to join us in celebrating this special fifth anniversary.”
A father and his children take in last year’s Moses Lake Airshow. The air show is the Friday and Saturday after Father’s Day this year.
A World War II-era F4U Corsair, center, flies over the 2023 Moses Lake Airshow in the company of two F-18s. The 2023 airshow attracted people from 24 states and two Canadian provinces.
Kyle Fowler speeds over the crowd in his Long EZ aircraft during the 2023 Moses Lake Airshow. The 1986 model aircraft is one of multiple Fowler pilots. He also operates a PA-31 Navajo Chieftan and a Kodiak as part of his passion for flying, according to his website, longez.ca.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.