Due to potential expansion in air operations at the Natchitoches Regional Airport affecting availability of the North Hangar, ongoing construction, storm damage to the South Service Hangar and personnel shortages, the Wings Over Natchitoches Air Show will be rescheduled.

The show, originally set for September is a partnership between Wings Over Natchitoches and the City. An event of this size and scope involves numerous demands on airport facilities and personnel.

Wings Over Natchitoches secretary and treasurer Stanley Salter said if Tiger Aviation brings a flight school to the airport it would take one of the hangars used for the air shows. One of the two service hangars received major damage from the storm that blew through town May 27. The 60 plus mph winds blew the doors in, inflated the building and bent the roof purlins. A structural engineer assessed the hangar and estimated repairs won’t be finished until the end of the year.

These circumstances would make the airport unable to provide hangar space contracted for the planes that perform in the Air Show.

“We were dealing with multiple challenges we knew we could overcome,” said Salter. “But when we lost the hangar after the storm that was it. The decision was made for us.”
The team members are disappointed in this development, but gratified by the continued outpouring of compliments received from last year’s show. They appreciate the public’s patience and will work toward a bigger and better show for 2017.