- This event has passed.
Will Rogers Fly-In
The whir of airplane motors and chopper blades, purr of classic cars and varoom of antique and classic motorcycles will fill the grounds and skies of Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch on Saturday, Aug. 12. It is the 82nd anniversary of the Aug. 15, 1935, death of Will Rogers and Wiley Post in an Alaska airplane crash.
The Will Rogers & Wiley Post Fly-In on the 2,000-foot grass strip, adjacent to Will’s birthplace house on the ranch and on the banks of Oologah Lake, will mark some 30 years that the event has paid tribute to the two.
Gates will open at 7:30 a.m. The first planes will start arriving about 8 and will continue to come and go throughout the morning and until about 1:30 p.m. Pilots come from a five-state area.
Bring your own lawn chair and pick a comfortable seat with a view of the sky and planes and they drop down on the ranch.
Will and Wiley will make an appearance about 9 a.m., one of the highlights of the event.
Admission is free. Donations are accepted.
Spectators will have an opportunity to get a close-up look at planes and meet the pilots of the various types of plane from classics to homemade and “push and pulls”. Cars and motorcycles will be on the grounds near the house.
A Cherokee storyteller will share his legendary stories under a shade tree. Roper-Docent Gene Loyd will entertain with music on the front porch of the home place, which will be open for tours.
There will be inflatables, games and crafts for children, ranch animals just waiting or a friendly pat and food vendors.
The Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch is located at 9501 E. 380 Road, Oologah, 918-341-0719.
