Giving Wing to Santa’s Sleigh

Every year, the pilots at Aspen Helicopters in Oxnard talk about putting Santa and his reindeer out to pasture.

They say it’s not easy to fly when they are lugging around a 900-pound electric facsimile of the jolly old man and his sleigh, made up of bright-colored lights strung over a large sheet of chicken wire stretched between a steel frame.

And they certainly aren’t compensated for the time they spend away from their families on Christmas Eve or the $1,400 it typically costs to fly above Ventura County for an hour and a half, even without electric Santa in tow.

But every time the talk turns to grounding Santa for good, the pilots think of the good will they’ve generated over the years and fire up their engines for another pre-Christmas run.

“We get lots of calls and letters from people who just appreciate it so much,” said Rick Throckmorton, Aspen’s co-founder and Santa’s designated Christmas Eve driver. “We have just continued the tradition because it has been so well received.”

For 20 years, in rain and cold and wind, the Santa scene has been Aspen’s gift to Ventura County. And it will continue this evening, lifting off at 6 p.m. from Oxnard Airport and zipping above the western end of the county at 70 mph spreading glowing good cheer.

The tradition began as a potential money-making venture for Aspen, which specializes in dusting crops, ferrying private groups for charter flights and operating an air ambulance service.

The idea was to fly St. Nick over malls and amusement parks, letting advertisers fight it out for the privilege of launching Santa into the sky.

The venture never made a dime.

“I guess we really thought about it and figured that part was just too commercial,” Throckmorton said.

Pilots used to take to the air with the illuminated contraption the entire week before Christmas, but flying time was cut back several years ago to only the parade of lights at Ventura and Channel Islands harbors and the traditional Christmas Eve run.

Aspen pilot Rob Scherzinger was at the controls a week ago as Santa and sleigh, connected by a thick cable to his helicopter, floated over the Ventura light parade. Scherzinger is one of the company’s three pesticide applicators, and usually the only time he’s bombarded with letters and phone calls is when people are angry with his low-flying pesticide runs.

But it’s a different story around Christmastime.

“It’s a change from what I’m used to,” Scherzinger said. “It’s just a lot of fun.”

Days before the Christmas Eve flight, Scherzinger and Throckmorton visited the hangar where the electric Santa is stored to give it a final inspection. Firing up two generators mounted to the steel frame, they flicked a couple of switches and the 1,000-bulb scene sparkled to life.

They had replaced the lights that make up Santa’s beard a few weeks ago, and now one of Santa’s eyes was out. But everything else worked perfectly, as lights began blinking--red, yellow and white--simulating two galloping reindeer and a waving Santa.

“It’s really in pretty good flying shape,” Throckmorton said. “I don’t think you’ll see anything like this anywhere else. It really is pretty unique.”

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Tracking Santa

Santa Claus and his reindeer will depart from Oxnard Airport at 6 tonight and follow this route and schedule:

6:03 Oxnard Shores

6:05 Silver Strand Beach

6:10 Port Hueneme Beach Park

6:13 South Oxnard (Hueneme to Pleasant Valley Road)

6:18 East Oxnard (Rose Avenue)

6:20 La Colonia area

6:25 Camarillo Airport

6:30 East Camarillo (Lewis Road)

6:35 Mission Oaks area

6:40 North Camarillo (Las Posas Country Club)

6:45 El Rio and Nyeland Acres

6:50 Saticoy

6:55 East Ventura (Foothill Road)

7:00 Ventura College (Foothill and Day roads)

7:05 Ventura (Grant Memorial Park)

7:10 East Ventura Avenue

7:20 Ventura Fairgrounds

7:25 Ventura Keys

7:30 Return to Oxnard Airport