The vibrant local aviation community is out in full force today at the annual Steinbach Airport Open House.

The open house began at 10 A.M. and wraps up at 3 P.M. Spokesperson Bardia Salimkhani took part in Providence University College’s aviation program. He says the aviation community is thriving in the southeast and this is a great family-friendly way to see it for yourself.

“It is a time for families and anybody who is interested in aviation to get together and get to see all of the airplanes. We have everything from local home-built airplanes that are built right here in Steinbach all the way to World War II airplanes such as the Harvard and there are some fly-by performances, and there are aerobatic performances.”

Salimkhani says there are also food trucks so families can make an outing of the open house. He notes it is also a great time to see local airplanes and ask local pilots questions.

"We will have somebody with every airplane so they can give some more specific information on the airplane and you will see a lot of pilots around too if you have questions about how you can get involved in aviation so there is a definitely a great opportunity to get information and spark that enthusiasm in anyone who is interested in aviation."

Paulette Klassen is the President of the Steinbach Flying Club. She says the local aviation community is thriving and they want to inspire kids and adults alike to get involved.

"Our goal is to promote aviation within our community and hopefully to gain interest with the young people. I believe we are a great aviation community what with Harv’s Air, we have HyLife flying in and out of there four days a week, we have the STARS Helicopter coming in to pick up patients, we have Adventure Skydiving, we just want to make sure the community is aware of our airport."