Las Cruces Air and Space Expo will include air races, more

What do FAA-certified air racers, the world’s first licensed armless pilot and a host of classic and vintage automobiles, planes and helicopters have in common? They will all be at Las Cruces International Airport for the first ever Las Cruces Air and Space Expo (LCASE) – plus a whole lot more.

The expo is 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at the airport, which is about 10 miles west of downtown Las Cruces via Interstate 10 or the frontage road just north of the interstate.

Admission is free, although paid VIP seating and premium parking will be available.

This is Las Cruces’ first air show since 2009, said airport manager Andy Hume. Last year’s Airport Appreciation Day and the Wings and Wheels event the previous two years “set the stage for this year,” he said.

Reno, Nevada, has been the exclusive home of air races – billed as the “world’s fastest motor sport” – until the Las Cruces expo, which will feature sport class air racing.

“It’s never happened before outside of Reno,” said air show coordinator Janel Carnero, a luxury travel adviser who is working with the city on the event. After a nearly 60-year run, Reno-Stead Airport hosted the Reno Air Racing Association (RARA) National Championship Races for the final time in September. RARA is now looking for a new, permanent home, Hume said.

The expo’s special guest is Jessica Cox, an Arizona native and a licensed armless pilot and American Taekwondo Association-certified black belt.

“Since I was born without arms, I became fascinated by the limitless ways the human body can adjust to a variety of circumstances,” Cox said on jessicacox.com.

Other aerial performers at the expo will be Jive Kirby, Stephen Covington and Chuck Coleman, along with Undaunted Air Shows.

The expo will also feature “a riveting display of fast cars, classic muscle cars, vintage antiques, powerful motorcycles, and more,” the City of Las Cruces said in a news release.

Exhibitors and vendors at the air show include Virgin Galactic, New Mexico State University, the United States armed forces, Fort Bliss, Spaceport, NASA, the War Eagles Museum and the City of Las Cruces, including Las Cruces Utilities vehicles, the Las Cruces Police Department and the Las Cruces Fire Department.

The expo will include a Coats for Kids of Las Cruces booth, including kids’ games. Also attending will be

Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 555 of Las Cruces Young Eagles flights.

The expo will include simulators for planes, drones and remote-control cars, along with games and STEM activities for children and food trucks.

“It’s going to be such a wonderful event,” Canero said. “This is an opportunity for us to make something really special.”

“We think the expo can become the next annual New Mexico event that will draw people from across the region and beyond,” Hume said.

There will be free parking for the expo at the Southern New Mexico Fairgrounds, with shuttles taking people back and forth to the airport, Hume said. Premium parking at the airport will be available for $25. Premium seating tickets, which will start at $50, include shaded seating with a center view of the aerials, VIP bathroom access and beverages, the city said.

Visit lascrucesairandspaceexpo.com.