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International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians Americas Region, President Larry Wolfsen |
2014 SOUTH
CENTRAL IFFR FLY-IN
AOPA REGIONAL
FLY-IN (MINI SUMMIT)
SAN MARCOS MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (HYI)
SAN MARCOS, TEXAS—APRIL 26th
So. Central chair:
Jack Welge
On Saturday, April 26, 2014 IFFR
members enjoyed AOPA’s
first regional fly-in at San Marcos Municipal Airport in
San Marcos, Texas.
More than 2,500 people and 350 aircraft
joined with us at the San Marcos
airport—a
tremendous turnout for
an overcast MVFR day with a foreboding weather forecast.
At first, I was worried about how the
weather would affect attendance, but it didn’t
scare many members
away and certainly kept the heat down. WP Michael Graves flew his Aerostar into
New Braunfels, bringing
with him Rocky Miller and Jim Moore, while George Valentine and his wife Sheri,
and O.F. "Dink" Jones drove in.
By the time we all assembled, only Dink Jones had the
opportunity to partake of the pancake breakfast at
the AOPA site. Michael, Rocky, Jim,
and I opted for an IHOP experience on the way in from New Braunfels,
and met up with George and Sheri in the parking lot on the way in to the AOPA
event.
The AOPA Regional Fly-In (Mini Summit) was a resounding
success and a great opportunity for IFFR to “get
the word out” to the Rotarians we found in attendance. But, in describing these
events, think more regional
fly-ins than Summits or Expos, as the Booth Displays are minimal and tucked away
inside a large events tent.
However that was the only negative as the feel of the event,
participation at the event, and ever present
love of aviation, and camaraderie of like-minded individuals was at a
high-level. It was also fun to see the
CenTex Wing Hangar of the
Commemorative Air Force housing a very-rare flying P-39 Bell Airacobra, and
the U-3A "Administrator" along with 3 AT-6 Texan types, a Japanese Zero replica,
built for the movie
Tora, Tora, Tora, a Chinese-built CJ-6A trainer, the Beech T-34A Mentor, and a
Lockheed T-33 "Shooting Star"
jet trainer.