Just like a family reunion, the Fly-In is the place for pilots and Aeronca enthusiasts to meet, greet, dine, take tours, snap photos and listen to guest speakers, all the while basking in a shared fondness of the colorful aircraft that put Middletown, Ohio, on the small plane aviation map. A panoramic photo of the planes is also on the agenda.
This year’s special guests include Susan Dusenbury, Director of the Vintage Aircraft Association; Bill Pancake, aviation restoration expert; and the Aeronca Gliders with Craig MacVeigh, registered owner of CG-1, the first Aeronca glider to be registered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
A banquet at the American Legion Post 218 Hall on South Main Street will conclude the event on Saturday evening.
Attendees aren’t the only ones who enjoy the Fly-In. In what has become a biannual summer tradition, members of the public find just the right spots around town to watch the “Aeroncas” arrive and depart.
This year’s assortment of visiting aircraft is expected to include Aeroncas built between 1928 and 1940 in Cincinnati, 1940 and 1951 in Middletown, and those built later by companies such as Champion Aircraft Corporation, which in 1954 purchased the rights to Aeronca’s Model 7 Champion airplanes and returned them to production.
So grab a lawn chair and binoculars and feast your eyes on Middletown skies and aviation history this weekend!
A pictorial exhibit celebrating Middletown, Ohio’s 78-year relationship with the aviation/aerospace industry will be available for viewing through September at MidPointe Library, Middletown. A companion exhibit on the library’s interactive touchscreen accompanies the exhibit.
The exhibits highlight the history of Aeronca, a longtime Middletown employer now known as Magellan Aerospace. They also recall the vital role that nearby Middletown Regional Airport/Hook Field played in local aviation.
