Palm Springs Air Museum Hops & Props 2017

The Palm Springs Air Museum​ may have discovered the secret to attracting those elusive Millennials, the generation that has been the hardest to attract to historic and vintage aviation events. Speaking their language had been hard to learn, but with leadership from Fred Bell, Vice Chairman of the Palm Springs Air Museum and his Disney entertainment experience, he and his team have crafted a message that Millennials understand and as a result they are getting their first encounter with aircraft produced and flown by the greatest generation. The 2017 Props and Hops event, held inside the new Major General Kenneth P. Miles Hangar, that was designed with these events in mind, the mix of micro breweries, live music, warbird flybys and aircraft rides was the right combination to bring in a wide age range, especially Millennials that enjoyed an environment they can relate to first, then can experience historic aviation as a side activity without any pressure to engage. This combination, from our observations, was the right strategy to reach a generation that has never heard about the contributions made by a generation, 70 plus years ago, that has allowed them to live a lifestyle completely removed from worries of military service. We talked with two young ladies from the Coachella Valley that were waiting for their phone call to board a B-25 giving rides at the event. They had found a love for aviation and could not wait to experience a flight in a historic aircraft. Many other young people with microbrewery drink in hand and live music in the background wandered over to the hot ramp barrier to watch old round engines start up and pulled out their cell phones to shoot a quick video. The key here, as we watched this unfold, they felt it was worth sharing with friends on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. That is the genius embodied in these events, give Millennials an environment they can relate to, show them something new and let them share it with others via social media. The 2017 Props and Hops was the last of four events to kick off the flying event season at the air museum. As we spoke with Fred Bell after the event he felt very positive about the direction the museum is headed and the planned events for the 2018 season. For more information about the Palm Springs Air Museum and their programs and events go to, https://palmspringsairmuseum.org/