2 astronauts to greet aviation fans at festival

One of them, Nicole Passonno Stott, returns to her roots: the site of her first solo flight.

CLEARWATER - She took her first tentative solo flight there, lifting off from its cement runways and soaring in a flight pattern that took her over Clearwater and the beach.

On Saturday, Nicole Passonno Stott, now a NASA astronaut, will come home again and sign autographs and pose for photos along with fellow astronaut Kevin A. Ford at the Clearwater Air Park Open House Aviation Festival, part of the Fun 'n Sun Festival.

David King, who runs the facility formerly known as the Clearwater Executive Airport, said Stott was practically mobbed by young people when she signed autographs at the event last year. Clearly, they think of her as a celebrity.

"The kids went nuts," he said. "It was the biggest line here. At least 50 kids at a time."

Helping her will be Ford, 43, a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force and NASA pilot since July 2000.

He is currently serving in technical assignments before being assigned to a space flight, according to NASA.

The aviation event in Clearwater draws at least 3,000 people annually, King said. They come not just seeking astronaut autographs, but to see police canine demonstrations, crafts and vintage airplanes.

One highlight is an award-winning Stearman replica.

"It has a 450 horsepower (engine) and big tires," King said.

Other attractions at the event include a petting zoo, a moon walk, and airplane and helicopter rides. King said each person rides for 10 to 12 minutes up and down the beaches and back. The cost is $15 for a plane ride, $25 for a helicopter ride.

Everything else, including hot dogs and sodas, is free.

As for Stott, a 1980 Clearwater High School graduate who joined NASA in 1988 as an operations engineer in the Orbiter Processing Facility (she was selected as a mission specialist in July 2000), the homecoming is bittersweet.

Memories of her father, Fred Passonno, still linger at the airport where the two spent so much time building biplanes.

When she was 15, the chemical company owner was killed as the small plane he was flying crashed in a canal near Lake Tarpon.

"She'll see some of her father's old friends there," said her mother, Joan Passonno.

There is a plaque near the flagpole at the air park with Fred Passonno's name inscribed on it.

Meet astronauts, see vintage planes and take a ride over Clearwater Beach at the Clearwater Air Park Open House/Aviation Festival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at 1000 Hercules Ave. N. Free.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright