On Saturday, a single engine airplane whisks over a huddled crowd of about a hundred ecstatic spectators gathered at Kalifornsky Meadows Airpark, south of Kenai. The small plane is performing a quick flyover before dropping some unusual cargo onto a makeshift tarp target below.
The plane circles back a few minutes later, and out the window flies an orange gourd. It misses the target, but explodes into bits and pieces that saturate the semi-frozen ground.
The pumpkin is the first of the day to be tempting gravity. Over 20 small engine pilots participated in this year’s annual Kenai Pumpkin Drop. Some pumpkins were dropped as low as 50 feet above the ground.
“We just like people to see what a lot of these pilots, pilots’ families and the flying community is about,” said Michael Beckwith, vice president of the airpark. “Some good comradery, and everyone is having a good time.”
The pumpkin drop was first organized six years ago by local airline company Kenai Aviation to bring people together during the central Kenai Peninsula’s shoulder season. Organizers say it’s also a way to introduce kids to the aviation industry. The event has since grown in popularity, this year attracting pilots from as far away as Wasilla and Palmer.
David Yragui is the developer of the airpark. He also helped organize the first Kenai Pumpkin Drop.
“A lot of young people have never seen anything like this, so it’s good," Yragui said. "It inspires people to fly.”
Between the day’s many flyovers and pumpkin explosions, children behind a barricade fling handfuls of rocks onto a freshly frozen pond that’s adjacent to the target. Soon, a pumpkin flying at high velocity will shatter part of the pond like glass. No gourds actually land on the coffee table-sized target.
By the end of the day, the airstrip is coated with pumpkin guts. But, organizers say that’s okay. It’s biodegradable and the moose will eat it up.
Yragui says the pumpkin drop is a one-of-a-kind way for pilots from all over to meet and pursue their shared love of flying.
“Pilots, they need to stay current," Yragui said. "This is just an event that they can come out and have fun.”
“It’s just watching the smiles on these people," Beckwith added. "Watching pumpkins fly out of an airplane, they explode on the ground.”
Even though the temperature outside was hovering around freezing, organizers say this year’s Kenai Pumpkin Drop brought in one of the largest crowds in the event’s short history.
