Columbia Aero Club Holds Annual Fall Fly-In at Sackman Field

By Carmelo Turdo

The Columbia Aero Club held their annual fall fly-in at Sackman Field in Columbia, IL Sunday.  The event drew pilots from around the Metro East IL and surrounding areas for a time of fellowship and aviation fun.  Some new projects were underway in the hangars, and a few aircraft have changed hands over the years.  Members of the 2015 Fly Now! The Movie were there with the starring Pietenpol homebuilt aircraft, and our friends Mark and Elaine Harter took center stage with their beautiful blue and white cabin Waco.  Add some cars, motorcycles and food, and you have a great Midwest Aviation event.  Here are some views of the day's arrivals.

The Aero Experience thanks the Columbia Aero Club and the Fly Now! the Movie crew for their hospitality.   

Pekin Municipal Airport 2016 Wings and Wheels: Part 1 - Sights of the Day

By Carmelo Turdo

The 2016 Pekin, IL Municipal Airport Wings and Wheels event last Saturday was a model fly-in that attracted local residents to experience aviation at their community airport. The  sixth annual event featured about a hundred classic cars and motorcycles along with unique aircraft on display and flying throughout the day.  World War II-era Stearman and T-6 trainers flew several circuits around the airport, and the aerial aerial crop spraying demonstration kept our eyes to the skies. As always, aviation people were happy to talk to the visitors and encourage them to learn about flying and their aircraft.  

In Part 1 of this series, The Aero Experience will give a survey of the aircraft and activities available at the 2016 Wings and Wheels event.  We have an aerial view of the airport courtesy of a flight with Peter Kalman in his R172K Hawk XP II.  We will include the car show, the motorcycles on display and the Denham family with their Bigfoot wagon!  Also featured are William Green's Best in Show AT-6G Texan, a Stearman PT-17 Kaydet and E75 Super Stearman flying together, and rides given by JAARS (Jungle Aviation and Radio Services) in their Robinson R44 helicopter and Helio H-295 Courier STOL (short takeoff and landing) aircraft.  A rare Piper L-4 Grasshopper with the Brodie System retrieval hook attached to the top of the wing and a variety of other aircraft were also on display.  In later posts, we will feature the airport background and the JAARS organization in greater detail.