Longtime AOPA Airport Support Network volunteer Lee Sommer said he has been to almost all of AOPA’s fly-ins at Frederick, Maryland, headquarters. So when the event returned October 4 as the Homecoming Fly-In after a hiatus, the College Park Airport-based pilot was happy to come back, too.
Homecoming by the numbers
3,000+ Attendees
347 Aircraft
315 Volunteers
57 Exhibit booths
34 Aircraft on display
2,953 Lunches served
15 Food trucks
125 Rusty pilots learning how to get back into aviation
2014 AOPA Fly-Ins
San Marcos Municipal Airport
(HYI)—April 26, 2014
Indianapolis Regional
Airport
(MQJ)—May 31, 2014
Plymouth Municipal Airport
(PYM)—July 12, 2014
Felts Field, Spokane
(SFF)—August 16, 2014
Chino Airport
(CNO)—September 20, 2014
Frederick Municipal Airport
(FDK)—October 4, 2014
Malcolm McKinnon Airport
(SSI)—November 8, 2014
“I guess one of the big things is, it’s kind of like you’re around your own,” he said. At the fly-in—the sixth of seven regional fly-ins in 2014 designed to reach pilots at a grassroots level—members connected with their association and one another, checked out the latest products and gear, and brushed up on aviation safety topics and the latest issues affecting their flying.
Display aircraft included everything from the Cessna 185 Polar Pumpkin to an L–39 jet. The Experimental Aircraft Association’s restored B–17G Aluminum Overcast carried passengers on a trip back in time with flights throughout the weekend. And Michael Goulian, a Red Bull Air Race Championship pilot and a winner of the U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Championship, delighted the crowd with an aerobatic demonstration in his Extra 330SC. Volunteers helped marshal airplanes and keep the whole event running smoothly.
“It is a great airport,” said AOPA President Mark Baker at the pancake breakfast. “It’s a great day to be at an airport.”
Sarah Deener
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