The "We're Over It" Review of the Fly-In.

A view from Sunday

The 2016 Fly-In at Lee Bottom was what it always is, fun. Those on hand had a great time. Unfortunately, the weather was not kind.

Proof God thinks we should do something else.

Counting back from today, the last three weeks contained repeated days of sunshine with only two lost to rain. Those were the two primary calendar dates of the event. On the surface, that sounds horrible. Fortunately, we have great friends.

 

As usual, Ginger insisted everything was just right.

Our only option, faced with such a forecast, was to let everyone know Saturday would be a stripped down version of the day. Sunday would then be our rain date and primary event day. Of course, as luck would have it, Sunday morning brought fog to the entire region. Every plan we had for the entire weekend had to be scrapped, modified, or downsized. Yet, those on hand had great fun.

Early in the week Bill Harvey arrived to help.  Later, Melinda Harvey joined in the fun. They are always great to have around.

Horrible photo documenting a great dinner.

Thursday night brought some early arrivals and a bunch of us piled into the car to go eat.  The restaurant had live music and those who made the journey had a great time. Some truly fine people were at that table and it turned out to be a great evening.

When Friday rolled around, we already had a pretty good group of fly-in campers on hand. They ate lunch delivered by Betty.  Several more people flew in for dinner cooked by our friends Mike and Julie Grecco.  They were assisted by some outstanding volunteers from GlobalAir.com. As we ate, the Rascals of Ragtyme shared some wonderful music with us and we gave away some items provided by our sponsors. Afterwards everyone watched The Blue Max before making s’mores by the fire.

Jeff(s)

Saturday started with RAF-Jeff bringing in breakfast and Jacob delivering coffee.  The day would  thendeliver one or two new arrivals and everyone pretty much hung out talking to each other and watching The Rocketeer. Meanwhile, Mike and Julie grilled up some great hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch. Meanwhile, Cathy Babis spent some time hooking the ladies up with some fancy hair berets. After that, Mark Thornberry, from Garmin, gave us a great presentation about ADS-B that I personally found quite useful. Others said the same. Next, we ordered pizza and finished the night by watching another movie and sitting and polishing off the s’mores supplies by the fire.

Setup day.

Then there was Sunday. Iceman-Jeff brought in coffee and breakfast. This day was the rain date but when we woke up the entire region was blanketed with fog. Not until mid-day did it begin to clear. That’s when new arrivals started to show. When the day was over a good number of planes had arrived, many making it for the first time ever.  Mike and Julie, once again, came through for food. Lunch came to an end and people trickled out until only one, Matt Erwin, was left.

This photo tells a story.  You decide what it is.

IF you made it this far, trudged through the prior paragraphs that read like minutes of a meeting, congratulations. I had the desire to let you know what happened during the weekend but no interest in the details. That’s obvious, right? It's not that I don't care. I’m merely so done with it I don’t have the energy or will to detail it properly. Please accept my apology. Instead, maybe it would best if I gave you my overall impression of the weekend.

Here’s what I took away from the last fly-in. No matter the size of the turnout, our people always have fun.  With less than 100 or over 400 planes on hand, those that come and invest some time in the event are always likeable folks; those that push through the weather to be here equally so. Because of this, even when things go south, the fly-in has never failed to leave you with good memories.

Two great planes divided by a hundred miles an hour or so.

Thanks to all who have supported the event through the years. This includes our wonderful sponsors. I hope each of you are able to work together in the future, aviation businesses and customers alike. We’re in this together and it is obvious we have the same goals. If we cooperate we may actually reach a few of them.

Matt Erwin - the last departure.

 

If you're left thinking, "There has to be more," stayed tuned to NORDO News.

Burning everything that wasn't bolted down.

 

BONUS

Firsts at this fly-in:

Took someone to emergency care.

Two words - hair berets.

Had a microphone and speaking.

Sponsor give-a-ways.

First time we ever had an official rain date.

The first time the event was over and we weren't energized to do it again.

And then, a new day.