Cavalcade of Planes 2025

The annual Cavalcade of Planes event is Clow Airport’s annual public open house which takes place on the first weekend of June. For 2025, that will be June 7 & 8. During the event, our airport hosts static aircraft and rotorcraft displays, flying aircraft and rotorcraft displays, airplane rides in a variety of aircraft, and food & refreshment booths.

Two days prior to this year’s event (June 5), EAA Chapter 461 will begin supporting flight operations and rides aboard EAA’s Ford Trimotor aircraft. Starting on Saturday morning, we will teach aircraft construction basics, host 1:1 scale mockups of Project Mercury and Project Gemini spacecraft where attendees have an opportunity to experience the confined quarters of spaceflight, and talk about airplanes and aviation. A lot. We may also go back in time to the 1980s with Matt Hissem’s Back to the Future DeLorean Time Machine!

Click here to download the 2025 Cavalcade of Planes flyer

Volunteers needed

Last year’s Cavalcade was a huge success thanks to the incredible efforts of our volunteers and the overwhelming community turnout (25000 people over the weekend). This year, we’re planning to go even bigger! Cavalcade is a fantastic opportunity to share our passion for aviation, represent our EAA Chapter 461, and showcase all that Bolingbrook’s Clow International Airport has to offer.

In addition to our fan-favorite displays like Rick Ernst’s “Airplanes You Make Yourself,” our chapter’s Zenith 650 build projects, and the 461 flight simulators, we’re bringing back exciting features like Matt Hissem’s full-scale Mercury and Gemini capsule mock-ups and the DeLorean Time Machine. Once again, the historic Ford Tri-motor will be on site offering once-in-a-lifetime rides.

To pull this off, we’re looking for volunteers to help with:

  • Exhibit support and crowd engagement 
  • Hangar setup and breakdown
  • 50/50 Raffle ticket sales
  • Chapter 461 merchandise sales
  • Young Eagles information and engagement
  • Zenith specialist support
  • Ford Tri-motor rides
  • Illinois Aviation Museum 

All volunteers will receive free admission to Cavalcade 2025, free lunch, and the gratitude of your fellow Chapter members and the joy of helping others discover a love for aviation.

If you’re able to volunteer, please sign up here:
👉 2025 EAA 461 Cavalcade Volunteer Sign Up  👈

Thank you for being a vital part of our Chapter 461 family. We can’t wait to see you on June 7th and 8th! Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions.