Akron Fulton Airport will fill with the roar of vintage warbirds and modern fighter jets next weekend as the Props and Pistons Festival returns for its 14th year, running Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year's lineup includes an F-16 Viper and a P-51 Mustang doing aerial passes, alongside a car and motorcycle show, a kids' zone and a solemn ceremony honoring fallen military veterans.
Admission runs $27.52 for adults, $22.22 for seniors and veterans, and $6.32 for children ages 6 to 17, while kids 5 and younger get in free, according to Cleveland.com. A four-pack covering two adult and two children's tickets costs $59.32. Parking is free at 1210 Massillon Rd., with free shuttle buses equipped with handicap-accessible lifts, and a separate passenger drop-off zone is set up at 1800 Triplett Blvd., per the same report.
The event is organized by Inspire Aviation, a Wadsworth-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs Props and Pistons as its primary annual fundraiser, according to Inspire Aviation. Proceeds fund STEM education, flight scholarships and youth mentoring in partnership with Akron Public Schools, per the same source. The festival debuted in 2013, making next weekend's gathering its 14th edition, according to Kent State University, whose aviation students and alumni regularly volunteer to help run festival logistics.
Fighter Jets and WWII Warbirds Take the Runway
In the air, festivalgoers can expect passes from an F-16 Viper, a P-51 Mustang and a Harvard IV advanced trainer, according to the outlet's report. On the ground, static displays will include dozens of aircraft from the 1940s alongside modern military transports and helicopters — among them a C-130J Hercules tactical airlifter, a UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopter and a CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopter.
The lineup also includes vintage trainers such as the T-28 Trojan, the PT-26, the Scottish Aviation Bulldog, the T-34 Mentor and the classic Stearman biplane, plus transport aircraft like the Beech D18s, the Saab 340B and the Cessna Caravan, the same coverage notes. One entry has a distinctly local mission: Air Bear, the aircraft Akron Children's Hospital operates for pediatric medical transport, will also be on display.
Beyond the runway, the festival's Kids' Zone — hosted by the Akron Children's Museum, according to the festival's website — will offer bounce houses, crafts and educational projects for younger attendees. A car and motorcycle show on the airport grounds will showcase classic, custom and specialty vehicles from across the region, and organizers are also running a free flight simulator, plus speakers discussing Akron's own aviation history of early blimps, WWII aircraft and locally made aviation components.
A 21-Gun Salute and a Flyover for the Fallen
The emotional centerpiece of the weekend remains the Flight of the Flags ceremony, now in its fifth year, according to the festival's website. Families who pre-register can bring burial flags belonging to deceased military veterans, which are flown aboard a World War II TBM Avenger torpedo bomber during a flyover. The ceremony includes a 21-gun salute and a flag-folding demonstration performed by the Green High School JROTC honor guard, and organizers note the TBM Avenger is the same aircraft model flown by former President George H.W. Bush during World War II.
Adults 18 and older can also enter a raffle for a ride they won't forget: an aerobatic flight aboard a SIAI Marchetti aircraft piloted by Rick Volker, an Unlimited-category aerobatic pilot, taking off directly from Akron Fulton Airport, according to TicketSignup. The flight follows Volker's practice run ahead of the weekend's main airshow performance, the ticketing platform notes.
Akron Fulton's Runway Dates Back to the WWII Boom
The festival's home field carries its own historical weight. Akron Fulton Airport opened in 1929 as one of the Midwest's pioneering municipal airfields and served as a U.S. Naval Air Station during World War II, when Goodyear Aircraft built more than 4,000 F4U/FG-1 Corsair fighter planes and over 130 military airships on site, according to Aviation CLE.
Just off the airport grounds sits the Goodyear Airdock, a 1,175-foot hangar completed in 1929 that was once the world's largest building without internal supports, according to Wikipedia. The Airdock served as the construction site for the Navy's rigid airships USS Akron and USS Macon, and its 364,000 square feet of floor space is large enough that shifts in atmospheric conditions inside can trigger indoor fog.
A National Safety Group Joins the Fly-In
The festival's regional profile has also grown. Starting in August 2025, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association began partnering with Inspire Aviation to host a regional AOPA Fly-In alongside the festival, bringing national aviation safety seminars and pilot camping to the airfield, with sessions presented by the AOPA Air Safety Institute and industry partners.
Though most locals still call it Akron Fulton, the City of Akron officially renamed the facility Akron Executive Airport in August 2018, and its primary runway, Runway 7/25, spans 6,336 feet, per Aviation CLE. The airport keeps its international designation because it maintains U.S. Customs clearance facilities, the outlet notes.
A Sobering Reminder From This Spring
The festival's return also comes months after a fatal aviation accident at the same airfield. In May, a Piper PA-28 light aircraft that took off from Akron Fulton Airport crashed into a home in nearby Coventry Township shortly after departure, killing both people aboard, Hoodline previously reported. That crash destroyed a residential home and prompted an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Inspire Aviation's mission stretches beyond the airfield gates. The nonprofit also organizes Balloons Over Wadsworth, a hot air balloon festival at Wadsworth Municipal Airport that features launches, night glows and discovery flights to support the same STEM scholarships, according to Wadsworth Community Television. For now, the group's focus is on Akron Fulton, where gates open next weekend for a stretch built on warbirds, classic cars and a tribute to those who served.
