Santa Cruz Flying Club Annual Pumpkin Drop

The Santa Cruz Flying Club and Ocean Air Flight Services have joined forces to celebrate the fall season by hosting a post-Halloween dropping of pumpkins from aircraft on Saturday, November 9 from 9 a.m. to 1:00 PM.

Young and old alike are invited to bring their (uncarved) left-over Halloween pumpkins and test their accuracy hitting a ground target for fun and prizes. The ‘Pumpkin Drop’ has been a popular annual post-Halloween event at the airport. Pilots volunteer their time and aircraft to take ‘pumpkin droppers’ twice around the pattern and over a 5’ x 5’ target located beside the runway. Prizes are awarded for pumpkins, or fragments thereof, that land closest to the target.

For community members interested in learning about aviation, or considering beginning flying lessons themselves, this is an excellent opportunity for an introduction to flight. Certified flight instructors will be available to demonstrate basic pilot skills and answer questions.

Donations are encouraged to offset fuel costs. You are invited to bring your own small pumpkin, or the Flying Club will supply one for a $10.00 per pumpkin suggested donation.

A Call for Pilots & Aircraft Owners

Fly-in events like the pumpkin drop are a great excuse to get out and fly. If you're based at any of the Bay Area airports it's just a short flight to Watsonville to join the fun, and even check out the "Second Saturday" airport event with discounted fuel prices and eat at Props Restaurant and Lounge at the airport terminal.

So if you're a pilot/owner, a renter, or a CFI in the area, we would absolutely love to have you stop by and introduce yourself and join in the fun.

If you have any extra small uncarved pumpkins, be sure to bring them along so you can either drop them yourself or donate them to the event so we can connect your pumpkins with visitors who would like to attempt to hit the target as well.

If you're planning on coming out of even considering it, please click the "Register Now" button above and let us know! We would love to have an idea of how many aircraft, pilots and participants will be there.