By (USUA #A86096)

I must apologize for not posting an article to ATP last month, but June was a very busy month work wise, getting ready for flyins, and meeting more new doctors than I knew existed (each of them interested in probing a different part of my body). The good news is that none of the Doc's found anything terribly wrong, concluding that I'm in pretty good health for the shape I'm in.

One of the previously mentioned activities included getting ready for the 18th Annual Father's Day Fly In at Shreveport North, the ancestral home and manicured grass strip of the venerable John Shreve. As usual, four area clubs, the Capital Area Light Flyers, the Mason-Dixon Sports Flyers, the Millennium Flyers and the Gettysburg Light Flyers, cooperated to plan, organize and execute the event. This year's Fly In produced a couple of innovations including the first ever Hot Air Balloon launch on opening day, an informative seminar on the trials and tribulations of earning a Light Sport Pilot License presented by CFI Art Turola, the participation of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter in presenting the flag for the opening ceremonies, and the presence of three veteran Sky Divers who performed two precision jumps to the delight of the gathered crowd.

The weekend, of course, included some old stand bys - the sumptuous prime rib and crab leg dinner on Friday night and the all-you-can-possibly-eat picnic on Saturday evening, the "Bear from the Air" stuffed animal drop for the kids present, and the Pilot Games which included the favorite water balloon bomb drop and a new wrinkle - a Nerf Ball catch. For those who, for a variety of reasons, were not able to participate in the flying activities, the ever popular Poker Walk provided a chance to compete and participate (and earn some cash to offset the cost of the weekend). Outdoor movies on the flight line (to include free popcorn) were shown on both Friday and Saturday nights this year.

An estimated 75 vehicles, including powered parachutes, trikes, fixed wing ultralights, gyrocopters, helicopters, General Aviation and Light Sport aircraft were present on Saturday and the weather was absolutely perfect. During the weekend approximately 900 gallons of fuel was dispensed, providing an indication of the amount of flying that took place. Thankfully, there were no accidents, incidents or injuries, and a good time was had by all who could attend.

Not to be outdone, Flying Club 1 reports a very successful Poker Run this year. Five PPG aircraft and six fixed wing aircraft flew separate courses collecting cards previously positioned by Club 1 members. When everyone returned to the starting point (it is reported that not all pilots made it to all locations), the cards were evaluated and Len Alt, President of Club 1, won the $55.00 pot with a hand of three nines. The newsletter reports that Len donated his winnings to the Club treasury, and then all joined in to consume a "really great cook out" due to the efforts of Jim Hill and Jim Birnbaum.

Club 1's newsletter also advises us of some major facilities expansion, including new hangars, at their home field, Warrenton Air Park. It is good to see that improvements continue to be made to aviation facilities even in the face of threatened closures of many small airports.

The Shenandoah Flyers of Greenwich, Ohio (Club 603) provides us with four web sites with information of fly ins and other aviation events: flyins.com; fun-places-to-fly.com; flyincalendar.com; usua.org; and eaa.org all have listings of flyins and events of aviation interest. The Shenandoah Flyers have been busy this year with an Open House on June 28th, a car show/pancake breakfast on June 30th and a picnic meeting on July 8th, all of which we missed due to the arrival of the newsletter in early July. However, we all still have time to get to their August 4th Breakfast featuring a presentation by Trooper George King of the Aviation Division of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

That's about it for this month. For those of you who are blessed with good weather, we hope it continues and that you are able to take advantage of it. For those of you experiencing the heavy rains, our wish is that the weather clears, your damage is non-existent or minimal, and that you can get back in the air soon.

Fly safe - and remember the "prime directive" -- Have Fun!