April 24, 2010 - Massey Chili Fiesta Fly-In |
| It doesn't seem that long ago that I
was at the Massey Fly-in and there was snow on the ground. That was
back in December and I only got the last of the mud cleaned off my wheels
in early April. But here it is time for Massey's spring Chili
Fiesta Fly-In. Weather was outstanding: warm, sunny and light
winds. I had my friend's son Matt with me. After leaving Essex
Skypark, I let Matt fly for awhile. Here we are overhead Massey at
about 4000 feet. It was a busy place with lots of planes
arriving. |
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One of the great things about this fly-in is that there
are a lot of really good photographers who post their pictures on the Massey Air Museum
Website. If you want to get some good pics of your bird, go to a
Massey fly-in. |
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| The RV gets a lot of attention these
days now that it has insignia and invasion striples. |
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Bruce R. in Mugsy was right behind me in the
pattern. |
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| You know my theory -- every fly-in has
a prize attraction. Today it was these three blue and yellow
Stearmans lined up in a row, looking fine. |
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| They are deserving of a second
picture. |
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| A Massey photographer photo of the
fly-in at its peak. Over 100, there was a wide range of
aircraft: RVs, Pitts, Stearmans, Citabrias, GA, Cubs, gyrocopter,
Cessna 195/170/140, two gliders, Aircoupe, you name it. |
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They have really done a lot on the DC-3. You can go
in it now. |
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| Nice looking Pitts. |
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Most of the socializing was done in this hangar.
That's where the food was, of course. (Massey photo) |
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| Speaking of food ...
(Massey photo) |
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| Beautiful Starduster II which is a
homebuilt, aerobatic biplane. |
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| This gyrocopter came thumping in.
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Beautifully polished Cessna 170. |
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| Matt in front of the full-scale replica
Corsair. |
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| RVs lined up. I'd say about ten
RVs were at the fly-in. |
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| North 40. |
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| One of my favorite planes: the radial
powered Cessna 195. |
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A SuperCub with some serious tundra tire action.
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| Trunk Monkey attendance was a little
light this fly-in, but Mark and Tim made it. |
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It was good to see a couple of Kolb ultralights show
up. |
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| Wow, a Piper Cub that is not
yellow! |
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| I've never seen a pink Citabria
before. (Massey photo) |
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| Another Massey fly-in quirk. Most
of the airplanes arrive early on and leave early. By 1PM
planes were starting to leave. |
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Many people liked to hang out on this grassy knoll
alongside the runway to watch the airplanes arrive and depart. |
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| What can you say. This is grass
roots at its finest! |
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A good look at the Gull Wing. (Massey
photo) |
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| My friend Anthony in the Red and Blue
Decathelon with another Citabria. (Massey Photo) |
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| The view on departure. (Massey
Photo) |
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| Matt and I took off and then made the
obligatory low pass. (Massey Photo) |
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Whoever took these pictures really knows what he is
doing. |
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Mugsy was right behind me. SMOKIN!
Another great aviation day thanks to the nice folks at Massey
Airfield. |
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