Thanks to everyone who came to Columbia, California and made our 12th annual fly-in such a fun one. We had 12 GlaStar & Sportsman aircraft from as far away as Vancouver Island BC, San Diego, and Park City UT, and as nearby as Jackson. Winners of our Northern California GlaStar/ Sportsman Fly-in t-shirt contest were the happy recipients of nice Glasair Aircraft Owners Association Hats and T-Shirts donated by Omar Filipovic and the organization. Mike and Sharon Moss won a pair of Clecall right-angle Cleco pliers, also donated by Omar, for flying the farthest, all the way from Vancouver Island. But it was a jar of homemade pomegranate jelly donated to the awards table by Lynn Yoder that was snatched up by the first winner of the night, Gail Hulse, wearing the “Best Vintage” flying shirt. Teri Ray created hilarious trophies for all the winners, including Scott Diffenbaugh for “Best Home-Built Hot Dog,” Lynn Yoder for “Biggest, Baddest, Best” and Dave and Anne Ammenti for “Best Couple’s” outfit (they called themselves “Dumb and Dumber” but we didn’t ask which was which).
On Saturday, five of our aircraft flew out to Pine Mountain Lake’s Airport Day & Airshow, while others drove out to see the Giant Sequoias in Calaveras Big Trees State Park and visit Twain Harte’s Oktoberfest celebration.
Everyone pitched in to make the Saturday evening brat roast a potluck feast. Rick Yoder even made us homebuilt ice cream.
Every year when Sunday rolls around and folks are packed and ready for the long flight home, they instead continue to talk and visit, reluctant to leave. No one wants it to end, and I’m struck again at the unanticipated good luck we’ve all had in building our GlaStars and Sportsmans. Not because it’s a good airplane, though it is.
Instead it’s the good people we’ve met and the good friends we’ve made over our building and flying years that are the meat of this homebuilt experience. The plane’s just gravy.
