Published: June 06, 2008 04:10 pm         

Airport gets ready for annual fly-in June 13-15

Attending the annual fly-in at Gainesville Municipal Airport is like visiting a museum in which the historic exhibits are alive with sound, color and motion.

Visitors can walk amongst hundreds of antique airplanes, take photos of people and aircraft and talk with pilots about flying.

This years’ fly-in is set for the weekend of June 13 through June 15 at the airport, and there is no charge for admission.

Members of the Texas Chapter of the Antique Airplane Association explain right away that a fly-in is not an aerial exhibition.

“This is not an airshow,” Terry Wallace of the Texas Chapter of the AAA said in a telephone interview from Canada Wednesday afternoon. “This is an event that is open to the public. It’s a chance to walk around and actually see the airplanes.”

Pilot and fellow AAA member Penny Richards agreed.

“This not an airshow. A lot of air gatherings center around aerobatic centerpieces, and they shut down the airport. We consider the fly-bys and comings and goings of the planes to be the show,” Richards said.

Wallace said the event sometimes draws “upwards of 300 planes,” but high fuel prices may limit the number of pilots who fly long distances to attend the event.

However, he said he doesn’t expect fuel prices to prevent pilots from his association from attending.

“There should be plenty of airplanes there to see,” he said. “Most of our members are pretty close, and they usually bring their planes — sometimes more than one plane.”

Richards said she and her husband are pilots who have a hanger near their home in Krum. They also keep one of their antique planes in Gainesville.

“We have 11 old airplanes from 1928 to 1962 (models),” she said.

Richards said the fly-in offers a rare treat for visitors.

“It is one of the very few chances you’ll ever have to see airplanes that should be in museums actually flying,” she said. “These engines on these planes cannot be heard anywhere else. They have a unique engines — little round engines, big round engines.”

Many of the aircraft that fly into Gainesville Municipal Airport during the annual event are basket cases — airplanes built from wrecked or disassembled airplanes, she noted.

“Most of these are not kit planes, and I think some of the younger pilots don’t realize that,” she said.

Texas chapter members of the Antique Airplane Association created a network of airplane enthusiasts who share their knowledge of plane repair and modification.

Love for flying apparently goes hand in hand with love for putting historic planes back together.

“The goal (of the association) is the preservation of antique airplanes. We always work together as a membership. If somebody has a part and you need the part, 90 percent of the time, someone will give it to you,” Richards said.

Sometimes, the only way to find a certain part is to obtain the part from another antique airplane enthusiast, she said.

Dave Vinton, director for Gainesville Municipal airport said he is excited about the fly-in.

“These are planes that you cannot see anywhere outside a museum,” he said.

Vinton said the annual event draws large numbers of pilots and other vistors to the city.

Richards said during past years, local auto dealer Brown Motor Company provided a vehicle to transport pilots between venues such as their hotel rooms and the airport.

“It’s just a nice service that makes it easier for the visitors,” she said.

The fly-in includes a hamburger cookout at 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 13, contests and prizes for the best planes in certain categories, and the popular Kiwanis Club pancake breakfast beginning at 7 a.m. Saturday, June 14.

The association’s banquet begins at 5 p.m. Saturday and includes recognition for winners during the contest. Wallace said visitors can also cast their votes for their favorite airplane in a People’s Choice contest.

He said the organization is also raffling off a renovated Cessna 150.

Proceeds from the raffle will be donated to charity, he said, adding that the drawing for the Cessna is set for July at another association event, and the winner need not be present to win.

For many of the pilots of the association, fly-ins are a way to reconnect with old friends. They also allow pilots — and sometimes members of their families — to see various types of planes.

“The (Antique Aircraft Association) conventions are set up so you could start at one end of the country and see a little different variety of planes at every port,” Richards said.

She said pilots spend some time preparing for the event, checking out their aircraft and taking factors such as wind and weather conditions into account.

Richards said high winds are usually the rule of the day at the fly-in.

“Every year, we are blown away during the first two to three good months — beginning in March and April. Then it seems like the winds always hits us again during this fly-in,” she said.

Wallace said most pilots are pleased to talk about their planes, especially to younger visitors.

“I like to see a lot of kids. It gets the youth more involved,” he said.

For information on the 46th Annual Antique Airplane Association Fly-in call Gainesville Municipal Airport at (940)668-4565.



On the Web:

For information on the Texas Chapter of the Antique Airplane Association visit the organization’s Web site at www.txaaa.org.