Santa flew in via helicopter to the Seeley Lake Airport Dec. 23. Seeley Lake was one of 20 communities on Santa's Air Mail Route with the Red Sleighs of Montana event put on by the Museum of Mountain Flying. Seeley Lake ground contact Erika Wilson helps Logan Binder, 3, pick out a toy while his younger brother Harrison, 1, sits on Santa's lap.
Santa waves as he lifts off from Seeley Lake.
Children and adults greet Santa who flew in on an A-Star Minuteman red and white striped helicopter Dec. 23. He parked at the southeast end of the airstrip in front of Scott and Mary Newpower's hanger.
SEELEY LAKE – Two days before Christmas, Red Sleighs Over Montana took off from Missoula Airport on "Santa's Airmail Route." Santa visited 20 communities across western Montana delivering gifts to the children, visited with them about what they wanted for Christmas and talked about aviation.
"We were just tying it all together with aviation, education and helping some kids and families out that need a little extra help. Especially with COVID the small businesses were devastated," said Museum of Mountain Flying President Eric Komberec. "We just thought it was the right thing to do and the right time."
The Museum of Mountain Flying was established in 1993. Its mission is in part, "To preserve for future generations, the legends, lore and historical legacy of pilots and other individuals whose pioneering aviation exploits helped bring America's Rocky Mountain West into the Air Age."
The Museum's first big campaign was Miss Montana to Normandy. They made Miss Montana, a historic C-47 aircraft, airworthy so she could join the D-Day Squadron and the Daks Over Normandy in commemorating the 75th Anniversary of D-Day on June 6, 2019. Miss Montana completed the trip and has returned to her home base in Missoula and is on display at the Museum.
"We made it to Normandy so now we need to look to infinite and beyond," said Komberec.
Komberec said due to the worldwide pandemic, it was a devastating year for the Museum. They had to cancel their weekend fly-ins, trainings and other events.
"We've been trying to figure out how to get the volunteers and pilots back together," Komberec said.
Komberec and his wife Tia came up with the idea for "Red Sleighs Over Montana" to help the pilots regroup, spread the word about the Museum, get kids excited about aviation all while spreading some Christmas cheer. However, after being assigned to fly one of Neptune's heavy tankers fighting wildland fires in California, Komberec wasn't sure he would make it back to Montana before Christmas.
Komberec was released from his fire assignment and they launched Red Sleighs. In 10 days, Museum of Mountain Flying organized the donations, volunteers, 14 pilots who donated their time and connected with ground contacts in 20 rural communities in western Montana. The schedule was in constant flux due to weather conditions and ground contact availability.
"It has been overwhelming but everyone is really excited to have this start as a tradition," said Komberec.
Wednesday, Dec. 23, the skies cleared allowing 12 airplanes and two helicopters to take off from Missoula International Airport for their respective communities with Santa onboard.
A red and white striped A-star Minuteman helicopter first stopped at Potomac School. While Sunset School was on the route map, Komberec said they never received confirmation that anyone would be there to meet the helicopter on the ground so they were unable to land. They arrived in Seeley Lake just before 12 p.m. More than 40 children and adults got to see Santa before he took off just before 12:30 p.m.
Seeley Lake local Erika Wilson was the ground contact in Seeley Lake. She helped coordinate with the pilot, arranged the landing at Scott and Mary Newpower's hanger on the southeast end of the airstrip, assisted with the distribution of gifts and helped spread the word.
"I was thrilled with how many people came out," Wilson said. "It was way more than I was expecting!"
Komberec was grateful for all the pilots who donated their time, Neptune and Minuteman Aviation for their sponsorship, the volunteers in Missoula and in the local communities who helped make the event a success by donating their time and gifts.
"It was an amazing, humbling experience for dozens of the families who were able to reach literally over a 1,000 young kids in 20 towns across Montana. All of the flight crews and people associated with this project were most definitely filled with emotion when they returned," Komberec said. "We definitely made a difference in the community and have started what I think will be a tremendous tradition for years to come."
For more information or to get involved with next year's effort visit the Museum of Mountain Flying's website or https://www.museumofmountainflying.org/ or follow "Miss Montana to Normandy" on Facebook.
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