Red Sleighs flies Santa to area schools for a visit

SEELEY LAKE – "Do you hear the helicopter?" Seeley Lake Elementary Superintendent Josh Gibbs told the students. "Santa is coming this way."

The students at Seeley Lake Elementary school watched and cheered as a Minuteman Jet Ranger helicopter landed carrying Santa and gifts in the south football field at SLE the afternoon of Dec. 21. The classes took turns visiting with Santa, receiving a candy cane and picking out a small toy or stuffed animal.

Seeley Lake was among 24 stops in Montana and Idaho for the second annual Red Sleighs Over Montana. Although departure was delayed out of Missoula Tuesday morning, the Jet Ranger stopped at Potomac School and at Sunset School before flying to Seeley Lake just after 2 p.m.

SLE was the largest of the three stops with more than 170 students. While all of the students filed through to see Santa and check out the helicopter a little closer, most of the toys and gifts were left with Gibbs to disperse.

"There were so many kids that showed up today for this and it was really nice to see everyone," Santa said. "It is just great that we get to come out and do this."

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."

Following the Museum's first big campaign "Miss Montana to Normandy" in 2019, it was ramped up for weekend fly-ins, trainings and other events. Then the worldwide pandemic hit and it was devastating for the Museum.

The Museum of Mountain Flying President Eric Komberec said he and his wife Tia initiated the inaugural Red Sleighs Over Montana December 2020 in response to the wide-ranging issues facing rural Montana communities. He said it helped the pilots regroup, spread the word about the Museum, get kids excited about aviation and spread some much-needed Christmas cheer to rural communities. Santa flew into 20 rural communities in Western Montana.

This year they had hoped to add six more locations but due to weather were only able to make it to four additional stops, including Sandpoint, Idaho. All pilots donated time, energy and all aircraft expenses while volunteers assembled all the gifts and candy to hand out.

For more information or to get involved with the Museum, visit the Museum of Mountain Flying's website or https://www.museumofmountainflying.org/ or follow "Miss Montana to Normandy" on Facebook.