The Mooney Caravan mass arrival group made the prudent decision to move its arrival up from Saturday morning, landing at Wittman Regional Airport Friday evening. Citing the poor weather predicted for Saturday—when the Mooney (1000 CDT), Bonanza (1300 CDT), and Cessna (1700 CDT) groups were originally scheduled to arrive—the Caravan scrambled to push up its arrival.
Starting around 7 p.m. CDT, about 70 Mooneys landed in a very short time, with most taxiing to their parking spots in the North 40 without incident.
While mass arrivals can seem like a major inconvenience to pilots arriving independently—forcing them to “make donuts” in the sky while a large flight lands—the efficiency of the system makes them a welcome sight for air traffic controllers and ground volunteers. More planes can land in a short period, parking volunteers not along the group’s path can take a break, and the workload for the control tower is temporarily eased.
Having this group arrive on Friday, when traffic is typically slower, will mean nearly 70 fewer airplanes in the sky during Saturday’s peak times. If you plan to fly in Saturday morning and weather permits, you no longer need to worry about the announced 10 a.m. mass arrival. They are already on the ground and enjoying the pre-show.
For the latest updates from AirVenture 2025, keep it tuned to kitplanes.com.
