FLYING Magazine
The International Invitational World Champion Rubber Turkey Drop has been part of Wings & Wheels, the annual fall festival at Delaware Coastal Airport (KGED) in Georgetown for many years.
That’s why Larry Kelley, co-founder of the event, said he was surprised when he saw a message on the museum contact page about the event, scheduled for Friday and Saturday:
“Please reconsider your support of the Wings and Wheels turkey drop this Saturday, October 3, 2026. This is animal abuse, and I would think you would like to distance yourself from a display of animal cruelty, especially in front of children who are likely to be attending the otherwise fun event. Thank you so much.”
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According to Kelley, the “’turkey drop” is inspired by an episode of the 1970s sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati.
In one famous episode, on Thanksgiving the radio station does a live remote at a turkey giveaway at a shopping center. The station manager, unaware that domesticated turkeys can’t fly, throws live turkeys out of a helicopter while WKRP newsman Les Nessman narrates the event.
It turns out to be a disaster as described by Nessman: “Oh, the humanity! The turkeys are hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement!” At one point, the surviving birds turn on the radio crew.
Museum officials called the people who left the message and explained the turkey drop is actually a rubber chicken drop over a target placed on the ground. It has been a regular part of the festival for years.
“They were very nice about it,” said Kelley, who is also co-founder and executive director of the Delaware Aviation Museum Foundation. “We’ve been laughing for 24 hours.”
Kelley said Olympic-style medals are given to the winners of the drop contest. A photograph of the medals and meme celebrating this understanding were posted on his Facebook page.
The chicken target is painted on a large tarp that is staked down between the runway and a taxiway at the airport.
“It’s a version of flour bombing, which involves dropping paper lunch bags with a streamer attached containing lime over a grass target,” Kelley said. “The lime is basically fertilizer, and at the end of the competition the paper bags are picked up and disposed of. The rubber chickens, on the other hand, are picked up and put away for another year.”
Wings & Wheels is a two-day celebration. On Friday the airport welcomes sophomores and juniors from the local high schools for Pathways to Aviation, an age-appropriate career fair. The kids will hear from speakers ranging from airline pilots to military recruiters and aviation maintenance professionals.
Representatives from aviation colleges will also be there.
Friday night there is a USO-style hangar dance, and Saturday the Wings & Wheels car show and aviation display takes over the airport. Expect to see vintage and carefully restored aircraft and automobiles.
The show is billed as family friendly as there are crafts, a World War II living history display, food trucks, flyovers, and the U.S. Naval Academy Parachute Team is scheduled to appear.
According to Kelley, there will be a few warbirds—the B-25 is one of them—that will be offering rides for a price, but most of the aircraft will be on static display.
Entry to the show is free, but there is a $5 charge for parking, which is used to pay for the portable toilets that are necessary for the anticipated large crowd.
Flyer for the event can be downloaded below: