The Fly-In is today!

It was a well-attended & fun event last year – so now it’s time for the Second Annual Fly-in & Open House – here’s more from Fred Schumacher:

Release Your Inner Child at the Friday Harbor Fly-In and Open House

Visualize a child’s fingers wrapped around a chain-link fence at the local airport, wide eyes watching every airplane take off and land, wondering what it would be like to be on the other side to experience the touch and smell of a real airplane.  Was that ever you?  If so, you can pass that feeling of wonderment to your own kids, on July 23 at the Friday Harbor Airport.  Only this time, you’ll be inside the fence up close and personal with all kinds of airplanes.  Antiques, classics, experimental, warbirds and more.  There’s a simulator to fly, face painting and balsa wood gliders for the kids.

The second ever Fly-In and Open House is planned to be very family and budget friendly.

Whether you drive in or fly in, the event is free, including parking, shuttle, admission, and exhibits.  There will even be drawings for free airplane rides, including a party of 8 aboard Kenmore Air.  The show starts at 10 with the opening ceremony and fly-by.  Several more fly-bys are scheduled through the day, until the show ends at 4pm.

Displays in the hangars include Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, Westwind Aviation, San Juan Air Maintenance, Island Air, Kenmore Air, Island Sky Ferries, Customs and Border Patrol, and more.

Extras for a charge are the Pancake Breakfast from 8-10, lunch from three vendors, hats and t-shirts, biplane and helicopter rides, and a Big Band Hangar Dance for the grown-ups from 7-10pm.

At 1:30 you can walk across the street to see the ground breaking of the Peace Health Peace Island Medical Center.

Friday Harbor is the kind of place where you can still be part of small town aviation, the way it once was across America.  And, since you can only get to San Juan Island by air or water, airplanes are very important.  In fact in 2009, 24,000 people got on or off a commercial flight at Friday Harbor Airport.  That’s three-times the population of the island. Add to that the large number of private aircraft and you can see the airport’s vitality is obvious.

If you have ever appreciated the quality time spent hanging around old airplanes at the home-town airport, this is the event for you.

For more information, see the Port of Friday Harbor’s site.

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