Helicopter Turkey Toss & Turkey Hunt
Wednesday, November 22
11 AM
In Commemoration of arguably the greatest sitcom episode ever aired on TV, the 1978 WKRP in Cincinnati “Turkeys Away” the Hiller Aviation Museum presents the Turkey Toss!
The Museum is known for presenting many events using a helicopter. Santa and the Easter Bunny both arrive by helicopter, A Witch drops pumpkins on Halloween and even a skydiving leprechaun jumps out of a helicopter for St. Patrick’s Day. Now for the first time the museum will be dropping Turkeys! No not real turkeys because domestic Turkeys can’t fly, as illustrated in the famous WKRP episode, so we will be dropping little soft squeezable Turkeys that the kids can take home with them.
To quote Arthur Carlson, the GM of WKRP “As God is my witness, I thought Turkeys could fly!”
There will also be a Turkey Hunt all day. Find all the Turkey’s hiding in the Museum and win a prize!
Event included with Museum admission.
For tickets Click Here
Here is the script from that famous episode: Nov 1978
Les Nessman: I’m here with hundreds of people who have gathered to witness what has been described as perhaps the greatest turkey event in Thanksgiving Day history. All we know for sure is that in a very few moments there are going to be a lot of happy people out here. Now the crowd is…
[passers-by gawk at Les]
Les Nessman: The… the crowd is uh… curious but well behaved. And I think I hear something now. Uh… The crowd is moving out into the parking area. And… oh yes! I can see it now. It’s a… it’s a… helicopter and it’s coming this way!
Andy Travis: A helicopter?
Les Nessman: It’s flying something behind it and I can’t quite make it out. It’s a large banner and it says H a p p y… T h a n k s… giving… from W… K… R… P! What a sight, ladies and gentlemen. What a sight. The ‘copter seems to circling the parking area now. I guess it’s looking for a place to land. No! Something just came out of the back of a helicopter. It’s a dark object, perhaps a skydiver plummeting to the earth from only two thousand feet in the air… There’s a third… No parachutes yet… Those can’t be skydivers. I can’t tell just yet what they are but… Oh my God! They’re turkeys! Oh no! Johnny can you get this? Oh, they’re crashing to the earth right in front of our eyes! One just went through the windshield of a parked car! This is terrible! Everyone’s running around pushing each other. Oh my goodness! Oh, the humanity! People are running about. The turkeys are hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement! Folks, I don’t know how much longer… The crowd is running for their lives. I think I’m going to step inside. I can’t stand here and watch this anymore. No, I can’t go in there. Children are searching for their mothers and oh, not since the Hindenburg tragedy has there been anything like this. I don’t know how much longer I can hold my position here, Johnny. The crowd…
Dr. Johnny Fever: Les? Les? Les, are you there? Les isn’t there. Thanks for that on-the-spot report, Les. For those of you who’ve just tuned in, the Pinedale Shopping Mall has just been bombed with live turkeys. Film at eleven.
[Les walks in, looking dazed]
Venus Flytrap: Les! Are you okay?
Les Nessman: I don’t know. A man and his two children tried to kill me. After the turkeys hit the pavement, the crowd kind of scattered but, some of them tried to attack me! I tried to jam myself into a phone booth. Then Mr. Carlson had the helicopter land in the middle of the parking lot. I guess he thought he could save the day by turning the rest of the turkeys loose. It gets pretty strange after that.
Venus Flytrap: [to Andy] “Now” it gets strange.
Andy Travis: Yeah, right. Now, Les, c’mon now, tell us the rest.
Les Nessman: [dazed] I really don’t know how to describe it. It was like the turkeys mounted a counter-attack. It was almost as if they were… organized!
Arthur Carlson: [Mr. Carlson and Herb come out of his Mr. Carlson’s office] As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!
Watch the original episode on YouTube: Click Here
Sponsored by
Kids’ Carnival
10 AM – 12 PM
Upcoming dates:
Sunday, August 27
Sunday, September 24
Saturday, October 21
Sunday, October 22
Sunday, November 26
Friday, December 29
Event included with Museum admission. No charge for Museum Members.
Join the excitement with special activities just for kids! Aircraft checkouts, cockpit exploration, glider and helicopter construction and more are just some of the activities available at each Kids’ Carnival.
Advance tickets available on VBO Tickets
Kids’ Carnival Activities
Outdoor Kids’ Carnival
March – November 2023
- Paint-a-Plane Cessna Cardinal
- Scorpion Helicopter Checkout
- Paper Helicopter Construction
- Penguin Airplane Assembly
- Open Cockpit Aircraft
Indoor Kids’ Carnival
December 2023 – February 2024
- Vertical Wind Tunnels
- Paper Helicopters
- Scorpion Helicopter Checkout
- Glider Construction
- Penguin Airplane Assembly
- Rig-a-ma-Jig Construction
Sponsored by
Santa Arrives by Helicopter!
Rain or Shine!
Saturday, December 2
9:30 am – 12:00 pm
Move over Rudolph, Santa is arriving in his personal helicopter!
No charge for Santa’s arrival!
Santa arrives at 10:30 am
Join us for Christmas Carols
by the West Bay Community Band.
Santa will be available from
10:30am-12pm to listen to Christmas wishes.
Museum doors open at 9:30 AM.
Helicopter Adventure
Upcoming dates:
Wednesday, August 23, 11 AM – 12 PM
Sunday, September 3, 11 AM – 12 PM
Sunday, October 1, 11 AM – 12 PM
Sunday, December 3, 11 AM – 12 PM
Event included with Museum admission. Free for Museum Members.
Advanced tickets available on VBO Tickets
Discover the world of vertical flight!
Each Helicopter Adventure starts with an introduction to the development of rotary-wing aircraft and explanation of the parts of the helicopter using a real Scorpion aircraft. Then, participants build and fly their own paper helicopters and climb aboard the cockpit of the Scorpion for themselves!
Event is included with Museum admission.
Bot Bowl
Upcoming dates:
10 AM – 12 PM
Sunday, November 12, 2023
Sunday, December 10, 2023
Join the Robo Bowl and take a turn commanding programmable robots to run plays in the Hiller Aviation Museum’s own robotic stadium!
The event is included with Museum admission, but space is limited.
Flight Simulator Rally
Sunday, October 15 – Shuttle Landing
Sunday, December 17 – Aerobatic Flight
30-minute sessions begin every half hour between 2:30 PM and 3:30 PM. Event concludes at 4:00 PM.
Take up the challenge in the Flight Sim Zone!
The Flight Simulator Rally, held monthly in the Hiller Aviation Museum’s Flight Sim Zone, presents participants with a specific mission in simulated flight. Each 30-minute session provides ample time for participants to learn a particular flight, then ends with a challenge flight to achieve the best possible results!
The Flight Sim Zone features a full lab of high-fidelity flight simulators, each equipped with realistic flight controls, high speed graphics processors, and dramatic widescreen-format monitors. Using state of the art flight simulation software, the Flight Sim Zone provides an exceptional recreation of flight suitable for non-flying novices and veteran aviators alike.
Pilots ages 8 and up are welcome to join each month’s Flight Simulator Rally. The event is included with Museum admission, but space is limited. Participants must report to the Flight Sim Zone promptly at the start time of each session to ensure a spot.
Saba Approach
Attempt a landing on one of the world’s shortest runways to see commercial service on Saba in the Dutch East Indies!
Las Vegas Night Flight
Pilot a small aircraft in a low speed night approach to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, soaring over the brilliantly illuminated hotels and casinos of the Las Vegas Strip.
Shuttle Landing
Pilot the historic US space shuttle to an unpowered landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida!
Aerobatic Flight
Master the controls of the Extra 300 aerobatic airplane and attempt a challenging loop around the Golden Gate Bridge!
Instrument Approach
Fly the Cessna 172 through severe weather to a safe landing at San Francisco International Airport!
Glider Discovery Day
11 AM – 12 PM
Upcoming dates:
Sunday, September 17, 2023
Tuesday, December 26, 2023
Event included with Museum admission.
Free for Museum Members.
Advanced tickets available on VBO Tickets
Discover the world of flight in a special outdoor family event!
Learn the names of the different parts of the airplane, then join in the fun the help build a full-size Penguin airplane! Then, assemble a balsa wood glider and join a fun festival of flight outdoors in the museum’s Courtyard. Each child receives a glider to take home!
Event is included with Museum admission.
Open Cockpit Day
Upcoming dates:
Saturday, September 9, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Wednesday, December 27, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Event included with Museum admission.
Online tickets available on VBO
Join us for a unique opportunity to gain a pilot’s eye perspective on many of the Hiller Aviation Museum’s aircraft. The McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, Boeing 747 and Hiller H-12 cockpits are always open, but on Open Cockpit Days the doors and canopies of many additional aircraft in the Museum’s collection swing open to allow visitors a special chance to sit inside and explore the controls and instruments needed to fly these aircraft.
Sit in the cockpits of the following aircraft:
- Grumman HU-16 Albatross
- Fokker Dr.1 Red Baron
- Aero Commander 500U
- Boeing 737-100
- Boeing 747
- Cessna 177 Cardinal
- Aero L-39 Albatross
- Bell 47D
- Hiller FH-1100
Happy Birds
Upcoming dates:
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
Thursday, December 28, 2023
11 AM
Event included with Museum admission.
Online tickets available Click Here
Join a feathered frenzy with the Happy Birds! This elite team of parrots, macaws and cockatoos takes wing for a dazzling performance featuring wild and trained behaviors of all sorts. Arrive early for best seating and take flight on the wild side with these popular parrots and their friends.
These avian performers have been featured on The Tonight Show, Pet Star and The Ellen Show. Their repertoire includes: animal impersonations, singing opera, crying like a baby, and even a song called Clementine!
You will see fantastic birds showing incredible skills, including:
- RIDING A BIKE
- THE SHELL GAME
- RIDING A SCOOTER
- TALKING AND SINGING SONGS
- PLAYING BASKETBALL
- ANIMAL IMPERSONATIONS
- RAISING THE FLAG
- 360 DEGREE SWING
- SKATEBOARDING
- FLYING TRICKS
- OPENING DRINKS
- AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
- AND MUCH MORE!
Kids’ Carnival
10 AM – 12 PM
Upcoming dates:
Sunday, August 27
Sunday, September 24
Saturday, October 21
Sunday, October 22
Sunday, November 26
Friday, December 29
Event included with Museum admission. No charge for Museum Members.
Join the excitement with special activities just for kids! Aircraft checkouts, cockpit exploration, glider and helicopter construction and more are just some of the activities available at each Kids’ Carnival.
Advance tickets available on VBO Tickets
Kids’ Carnival Activities
Outdoor Kids’ Carnival
March – November 2023
- Paint-a-Plane Cessna Cardinal
- Scorpion Helicopter Checkout
- Paper Helicopter Construction
- Penguin Airplane Assembly
- Open Cockpit Aircraft
Indoor Kids’ Carnival
December 2023 – February 2024
- Vertical Wind Tunnels
- Paper Helicopters
- Scorpion Helicopter Checkout
- Glider Construction
- Penguin Airplane Assembly
- Rig-a-ma-Jig Construction
Sponsored by
