Mark your calendar - I am about to share something with you that is truly special. Consider this coming Sunday, May 19, booked. If you already have plans to do something else, I am about to give you the perfect excuse to skip them.
A highlight of my childhood was airport picnics, grass-strip fly-ins, and pancake breakfasts. I took my first ride in an airplane when I was 4 days old (although I don't remember it). When I was in grade school I got to ride in an open-cockpit Stearman biplane. I craned my neck and watched with wonder as the world slipped by beneath the landing gear. Houses, trees, roads, and cars appeared as miniatures - I had to convince myself that they were real, and not a model.
Going to a community-based airport fly-in filled me with the level of excitement and wonder that only a kid can experience. I loved to watch the airplanes take off and land. I loved the sound of a propeller biting the wind, driving a sleek and beautiful machine into the air, and I'd turn to watch every time an engine fired up. Above the roar of pistons and whapping of propeller blades was a constant drone of human chatter. People walked along, looking at the airplanes on display and chatting to the pilots. It was a chance to meet old friends and make new ones, whether you flew in or drove.
Walking around the airplanes, feeling the grass beneath my feet, and taking in the sights, the sounds, and the smells of airport fly-ins encompassed the best of what summertime had to offer.
As I grow older, that childhood sense of inspiration does not diminish, but I have noticed something else about small fly-in breakfasts, the airports at which they are held, and the people who donate their time and efforts to making it all happen.
Too often, we look to the past with a sense of nostalgia, when the can-do American attitude prevailed over one of melancholy. Back then we had the ability to improvise, the genuine desire to slow down to savor life. People used to look out for, help, and lend a hand to one another for no reason other than the discarded notion that hey - that's what you do. These were the very principles that allowed us to build cars without seat belts and doors without locks.
What is rarely recognized is that the ideals symbolized therein still exist. Those attitudes are not relegated to a long-gone era; one must only search a little in order to find it. In my case, I was introduced to it at a young age at airport fly-ins, where it is still very much alive and well.
I cringe when I hear people sneer at their local airport, labeling it as an elitist club, diminishing it with a phrase like, "It's just a playground for the rich." I shudder at the notion of reducing a local airport and all it entails to a line item on a budget, being scrutinized by a bureaucrat who scorns, "What benefit does this provide?"
When an airport is represented in such a manner it is true that the benefits are difficult to quantify, which is why I am inviting you to join me this Sunday, May 19, at the Brodhead Airport fly-in pancake breakfast. Come see it for yourself. Whether you fly in, drive, ride a bicycle, or walk, I can guarantee that you will be welcomed.
The pancake breakfast fly-in is hosted, and made possible by volunteers from Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 431. The international organization EAA encompasses the spirit of all aviation and seeks to share that passion with others - much like the annual Breakfast on the Farm highlights agriculture. Such an event, whether it be an airport fly-in, Breakfast on the Farm, firemen's fish fry, or community potluck is essential for precisely the reason that it supports the local community, and the people who make it work.
Did I mention that, weather permitting, there will be free airplane rides? EAA supports a program called Young Eagles, which is specifically designed to share the passion of aviation with kids between the ages of 8 and 17. The ride includes an introduction to the airplane and its systems. A pilot explains what makes an airplane fly, how the controls move, and a look at the instrument panel. Seatbelts fastened, the ride might last 15 to 20 minutes, but the experience will be unforgettable. There is simply nothing that compares to soaring above one's community, watching in awe as houses, trees, roads, and cars slip by as miniatures.
The purpose of Young Eagles is to educate as much as it is to provide an experience to the participants. Kids will walk away with the understanding of how an airplane works, the joy of what it feels to fly, and the knowledge that being a pilot is absolutely obtainable. Anyone interested in a Young Eagles flight can register at the airport on Sunday, and all flights are made possible by the generous donation of time, fuel, and aircraft by local pilots.
Again, I invite you to experience the best of what summertime has to offer, by joining me on Sunday, May 19 at Brodhead Airport. Admittance is free, and adults eat for $6; kids for $4. Breakfast will include pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, coffee and a beverage.
Where else can you get served breakfast by the best airplane builders/chefs in the world?
- Dan Wegmueller of Monroe writes a column for the Times each Tuesday. He can be reached at dwegs@tds.net.
A highlight of my childhood was airport picnics, grass-strip fly-ins, and pancake breakfasts. I took my first ride in an airplane when I was 4 days old (although I don't remember it). When I was in grade school I got to ride in an open-cockpit Stearman biplane. I craned my neck and watched with wonder as the world slipped by beneath the landing gear. Houses, trees, roads, and cars appeared as miniatures - I had to convince myself that they were real, and not a model.
Going to a community-based airport fly-in filled me with the level of excitement and wonder that only a kid can experience. I loved to watch the airplanes take off and land. I loved the sound of a propeller biting the wind, driving a sleek and beautiful machine into the air, and I'd turn to watch every time an engine fired up. Above the roar of pistons and whapping of propeller blades was a constant drone of human chatter. People walked along, looking at the airplanes on display and chatting to the pilots. It was a chance to meet old friends and make new ones, whether you flew in or drove.
Walking around the airplanes, feeling the grass beneath my feet, and taking in the sights, the sounds, and the smells of airport fly-ins encompassed the best of what summertime had to offer.
As I grow older, that childhood sense of inspiration does not diminish, but I have noticed something else about small fly-in breakfasts, the airports at which they are held, and the people who donate their time and efforts to making it all happen.
Too often, we look to the past with a sense of nostalgia, when the can-do American attitude prevailed over one of melancholy. Back then we had the ability to improvise, the genuine desire to slow down to savor life. People used to look out for, help, and lend a hand to one another for no reason other than the discarded notion that hey - that's what you do. These were the very principles that allowed us to build cars without seat belts and doors without locks.
What is rarely recognized is that the ideals symbolized therein still exist. Those attitudes are not relegated to a long-gone era; one must only search a little in order to find it. In my case, I was introduced to it at a young age at airport fly-ins, where it is still very much alive and well.
I cringe when I hear people sneer at their local airport, labeling it as an elitist club, diminishing it with a phrase like, "It's just a playground for the rich." I shudder at the notion of reducing a local airport and all it entails to a line item on a budget, being scrutinized by a bureaucrat who scorns, "What benefit does this provide?"
When an airport is represented in such a manner it is true that the benefits are difficult to quantify, which is why I am inviting you to join me this Sunday, May 19, at the Brodhead Airport fly-in pancake breakfast. Come see it for yourself. Whether you fly in, drive, ride a bicycle, or walk, I can guarantee that you will be welcomed.
The pancake breakfast fly-in is hosted, and made possible by volunteers from Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 431. The international organization EAA encompasses the spirit of all aviation and seeks to share that passion with others - much like the annual Breakfast on the Farm highlights agriculture. Such an event, whether it be an airport fly-in, Breakfast on the Farm, firemen's fish fry, or community potluck is essential for precisely the reason that it supports the local community, and the people who make it work.
Did I mention that, weather permitting, there will be free airplane rides? EAA supports a program called Young Eagles, which is specifically designed to share the passion of aviation with kids between the ages of 8 and 17. The ride includes an introduction to the airplane and its systems. A pilot explains what makes an airplane fly, how the controls move, and a look at the instrument panel. Seatbelts fastened, the ride might last 15 to 20 minutes, but the experience will be unforgettable. There is simply nothing that compares to soaring above one's community, watching in awe as houses, trees, roads, and cars slip by as miniatures.
The purpose of Young Eagles is to educate as much as it is to provide an experience to the participants. Kids will walk away with the understanding of how an airplane works, the joy of what it feels to fly, and the knowledge that being a pilot is absolutely obtainable. Anyone interested in a Young Eagles flight can register at the airport on Sunday, and all flights are made possible by the generous donation of time, fuel, and aircraft by local pilots.
Again, I invite you to experience the best of what summertime has to offer, by joining me on Sunday, May 19 at Brodhead Airport. Admittance is free, and adults eat for $6; kids for $4. Breakfast will include pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, coffee and a beverage.
Where else can you get served breakfast by the best airplane builders/chefs in the world?
- Dan Wegmueller of Monroe writes a column for the Times each Tuesday. He can be reached at dwegs@tds.net.
