The skies over Mountain Home belonged to 18 young pilots-for-a-day on Halloween morning. By afternoon, the ground belonged to an estimated 3,000 costumed trick-or-treaters who packed the ramp at Baxter County Airport for the first Treats on the Tarmac.
The two-hour afternoon event, put on by local pilots, airport tenants and airport management, drew a crowd far beyond what anyone had planned for. It was the third time this year the public has been invited to use the airport, after the Crosswind Classic in August and the Run the Runway 5K one week earlier.
Pilots parked their aircraft along the terminal ramp and handed out candy plane to plane, while children climbed into cockpits, talked with the people who fly them and posed for photos with their favorite airplane.
The candy ran low more than once. Organizers sent copilots out on repeated “treat relays” to find and restock supplies, and pilots were kept going with extra water and help from volunteers as parents lined up for photos. The aircraft and their crews held the line through the rush.
Members of Chapter 775 of the Experimental Aircraft Association, pilots from Valley Airpark and the Midway Volunteer Fire Department worked the ramp alongside the airport’s tenants, with aviators from Gaston’s and Sharp County pitching in as well.
“The turnout was incredible, and it was great to see so many families come out and experience their airport,” Airport Director Taylor Carmichael said. “I’m grateful to our Baxter County Airport tenants and neighboring aviation partners from The Valley Airpark, Gaston’s, and Sharp County for their support.”
“It takes leadership to give back, and I believe we’re on the right track to building an airport that serves our community, creates opportunities, and gives people something to be proud of,” Carmichael said.
Carmichael said the airport’s daily value, from medical flights to business investment and its role in the local economy, is not always obvious to residents who don’t own airplanes. Public events like Saturday’s are meant to change that.
The day had started hours earlier and much quieter, with a Young Eagles rally. Chapter 775 pilots, joined by pilots from EAA Chapter 1718 in Cherokee Village, put seven aircraft on the line and gave free flights to 18 young people, 13 boys and five girls, who had registered weeks in advance. More than 20 chapter members volunteered their time and airplanes to pull it off.
Ten of the Young Eagles came from Mountain Home. The rest traveled from Leslie, Austin, Elizabeth and Evening Shade in Arkansas, and two families made the trip from Plano, Texas, and Pittsburg, Kansas, to put their children in the air on Halloween.
A Young Eagles flight is open to anyone ages 8 to 17. Each child rides along with a volunteer pilot for a 15- to 20-minute aerial look at the community and gets a chance to handle the controls. The point, the chapter says, is to show young people what real pilots do on the ground and in the air.
Every participant goes home with more than a story. Each receives a personal aviation logbook with the flight recorded, a completion certificate, a free student membership in the national EAA and access to free online courses, including a Sporty’s Learn to Fly course.
“This is our second Young Eagle rally this year at Baxter County Airport providing this free aviation experience,” said Bill Holland, chapter president and Young Eagles coordinator. “This year a total of 31 Young Eagles has been flown by Chapter 775 and for many their first flight experience in a general aviation aircraft.”
“Our chapter is looking forward to providing more aviation experiences for the community in 2027 and will announce rally dates this spring,” Holland said.
The EAA, based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, launched the Young Eagles program in 1992 to get young people into general aviation airplanes. It has flown more than 2.5 million of them since.
Run the Runway, a 5K and 1-mile run and walk, was held Oct. 24 on the airport’s runway and taxiway. The Leading Edge Aviation Foundation and airport management put on the race together, and runners and walkers covered the full length of the runway on a late-October morning.
Gerald Gaige of the Leading Edge Aviation Foundation said the three events share a purpose.
“This event for the public to come and use their airport is the third this year in a chain of events providing community access and awareness of the value of our airport,” Gaige said. “We are pleased that all the aviation organizations in our airport community work so hard to make aviation opportunities accessible for all citizens.”
The foundation has worked since 2018 to open aviation to local residents through a flying club, aviation science classes in Mountain Home schools and career scholarships for students.
The Crosswind Classic in August, hosted by the new nonprofit Crosswind Classic Inc., drew thousands to an airport open house with a poker run, warbirds and a car show. Planning is already underway for the 2027 edition as the group pursues its goal of supporting aviation career education.
With that lineup of aviation groups working alongside Baxter County Judge Kevin Litty and airport management, organizers say residents can expect more chances to visit the airport and learn what it does for the county. Information on Chapter 775 and future Young Eagles rallies is available at chapters.eaa.org/eaa775.
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