Fly-In

Two little hyphenated words that move me to action. On this, I’m not alone. Pilots love to go to fly-ins. I visit websites to learn about new events, receive email alerts, and plan well in advance those I wish to attend. My first one was in 2003 just after starting flying lessons. I drove in since I had yet to solo and anyway it was held at my home airport, Chehalis (CLS). I practically jumped up and down in excitement at planes coming and going, and parked in rows for visitor admiration. I was proud to be a pilot in training and nervously approached a few pilots, eager to be a member of what appeared to be a very exclusive club. The pilots were welcoming and seemed as eager to share their experiences and aircraft as I was to learn. I immediately felt at home and vowed that someday I would fly to a fly-in and share my aviation excitement and knowledge with visitors walking along the line of planes.

It was May of 2005 when I fulfilled that goal. With a friend, one of those pilots created by Russ, I flew into Concrete (3W5) to attend my first fly-in as a pilot in my own plane. It just couldn’t get any better than that. But it did. The runway was lined with people watching (and grading) the landings and mine was one to be proud of – not always possible under pressure. For several hours I wandered among the other planes, visiting with pilots, taking photos and soaking up aviation at its best. Concrete is a beautifully maintained airport with swaths of mowed grass, landscaped hangars full of collector quality aircraft and cars, and a top-notch pilots lounge. A local group called the Black Jacks awed with their formation flying overhead. I sat under Isabo’s wing, talking to passers-by and there it was, another goal met, another memory to savor.

Since then I’ve been to many fly-ins, some good, others less so, but all an opportunity to meet new friends, learn and share all things aviation. Many events include military aircraft on the ground and demonstration flights. Others offer airshows, beautiful cars, or remote control planes.


The pilots of these remote control aircraft provide impressive shows of their skills and aircraft.

Even a poor hamburger tastes like heaven when eaten while watching a Coast Guard helicopter rescue demo.
This is the State Patrol's Cessna 206 equipped with special aerial camera equipment.

Here I am with a Cessna 195 at Concrete this year. Someday, when I win the lottery, I'll own one of these beautiful birds.