Air show highlights runway dedication

Four daring pilots took to the skies above Blosser Municipal Airport and dazzled a large crowd with an array of aerobatic maneuvers as the city of Concordia and the Airport Advisory Board officially dedicated the new Runway 18/36 with an air show on Saturday afternoon.
Flying upside down just a few feet off the ground in his modified Pitts S2S, a light aerobatic biplane, Brian Correll cut the ribbon on a new longer and wider runway at the airport.
Correll and Bob Richard in his Pitts Special performed individually and together during the show.
Justin Lewis streaked across the sky in his FLSMicrojet.
At just 13-feet long and less than six-feet tall, the Microjet is the smallest jet airplane in the world and can reach speeds of up to 320 miles per hour.
Also performing during the show was Lee Crouch in his T-6 Texan.
The K-State Skydivers got the air show started by dropping into the airport.
“We are pleased to celebrate completion of Runway 18/36 with our community at the airport this weekend. The air show was a perfect way to showcase the safety and economic development improvements to our residents, visitors and pilots,” Concordia city manager Amy  Lange said. “Thank you to Steve Richard and the Airport Advisory Board, city staff and surrounding first responder agencies, the performers and all the volunteers who made the show a success.”
The construction of Runway 18/36 and the conversion of runway 17/35 into a parallel taxiway were projects that were included in the airport capital improvement plan with the 2013 updated airport master plan.
The city of Concordia was awarded a $6,950,000 grant through the supplemental appropriation of the Federal Aviation Administration Airport Improvement Program grant for runway/taxiway construction at the airport, as authorized by Congress through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018.
The grant is a 100 percent reimbursable grant. There is no local match required.
In May of 2020 the Concordia city commission approved authorizing Lange to enter into a contract with Vogts-Parga Construction LLC, Newton, for the construction of Runway 18/36, conversion of Runway 17/35 into a parallel taxiway and associated work at a cost of $5,205,308.66.
Runway 18/36 is now open and work will be completed on the taxiway later this fall.
The increased length and width of the runway will support larger aircraft used in modern business operations and a fixed-wing ambulance service that is critical for rural Kansas.
The Airport Advisory Board put together the air show as part of the dedication celebration.