The New Fly-In Name is Here.

It’s official.  The new name of the September fly-in at Lee Bottom is, “The Aviation Migration.”  What’s behind the change?  Here’s the story.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the old name, “Wood, Fabric, & Tailwheels,” came about in the early days of the event.   Designed to tell a story, the goal was to have the title explain what it was all about.  If you saw the invitation there were no questions left to ask.  On the other hand, many saw it and believed it meant they weren’t welcome.

Think about it; in the mid to late 90s, the idea of what made an aircraft antique or classic was far different than it is today.  Even the notion of which planes fit the definition of GA was different.   Yet, people were already challenging those beliefs.   We saw it firsthand here at Lee Bottom.

Very quickly, the event grew to include all the planes that now fit the descriptions of antique and classic.  Expanding year after year, it also attracted everything that could be lumped into the modern parameters of GA.  People would come to the fly-in, look around, and ask, “Where are all these people coming from?”

It took a while for everyone to understand this.  Eventually attendees explained it.  Time after time, new visitors would stop to thank us for making them feel welcome.  It didn’t matter what they were flying, the people coming to Lee Bottom were looking for a place they fit in, where they would also be met with a smile and made to feel at home.  It was a gathering place to which like-minded people flocked.

 

Attendees said elsewhere, “They don’t get it.”  That’s when it hit me.  Lee Bottom was to aviation, what a typical refuge is to dwindling wildlife.  A proverbial wetland for winged creatures in search of a safe place to set down; an aviation refuge.

It was the realization above that led to the forming of the 501C-3 non-profit, The Lee Bottom Aviation Refuge; an organization created to protect the aviation refuge, insure the survival of those who call it home and their way of life, and to educate others on the importance of their survival.  And that eventually led to the fly-in name we’re unveiling now, “The Aviation Migration – Where Everyone goes at the End of Summer.”

Moving forward with this name, we will spread the word far and wide that Lee Bottom is a sanctuary for all aviators in search of a place that gets it.

THE AVIATION MIGRATION – SEPTEMBER 18^TH-20^TH, 2015

NOTE:  We have some news about the non-profit side of things we’ll be sharing with you soon.  It involves this year’s fly-in and a once in a lifetime opportunity.