Arlington

For those who are pilots, or aviation aficionados in the Pacific Northwest, Arlington is like our own Oshkosh. It’s a big fly-in held every year in July. The crowds are amazing, hundreds of planes flying in, campers and cars driving in. For a novice, the approach can be a challenge with specific approaches, 8-10 planes in the pattern and landings taking place every few minutes, frequently two at a time. These procedures are not usual fare for most pilots, thus the challenge. I had “flown” the route to the designated approach spot on Google Earth so was confident I could spot the field located to the SE of Arlington. What a feeling of confidence to spot each waypoint as if I’d flown in many times. On the ground pilots find acres of grass upon which to park and put up tents. Lawn chairs line up under wings, ice chests cuddle into aircraft flanks in the shade. I flew in Thursday evening with a good friend, Jerry. Later my friend, Judy arrived in her Cessna 172. We were thrilled to camp next to each other for the first time.

The fly-in offers seminars on flying and building planes. Vendors sell essentials and luxury items to put on the wish list. Each evening there is an outdoor movie. Afternoons a two hour air show with aerobatic planes and pilots eliciting oh’s and ah’s like you hear during firework displays – in fact one of the acts included fireworks. Yes, you could see them in the middle of the afternoon.


Photo above is Jerry, Ron and myself watching the airshow. We kept saying “It just doesn’t get any better than this.”

No big fly-in would be complete without War Birds. Here I am piloting and shooting from a B52 called Grumpy.

But the best part of the event is meeting new flying friends, reconnecting with old ones and admiring all the planes. Fun, Educational, Relaxing, Challenging. Arlington has it all.