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WINGS OVER BLAKESBURG

Air Classics, Jan 2005 by Auliard, Gilles

WE VISIT THE YEARLY ANTIQUE AIRPLANE ASSOCIATION FLY-IN

Unless you are a busy executive on the verge of a nervous breakdown, or you have some relatives to visit, Iowa will probably not be your first choice for a vacation spot. However, for some unusual characters, Blakesburg, Iowa, becomes the center of the known universe every Labor Day. The AAAers, members of a very selective sect, congregate for five days at that location to accomplish the rituals that unite them all. After 50 years of existence, it is time to expose the best-kept secret in the world of aviation.

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In 1953, Robert Taylor, founder of the Antique Airplane Association (AAA), was running a small FBO named MidWest Aviation at the Ottumwa Airport, an old Navy training base converted to general aviation. Wondering if there were any pilots like him interested in older airplanes (1953 was, after all, the 50th anniversary of the first flight), he put an ad in Flying magazine, and received twelve replies. Having found his twelve apostles, Bob Taylor created the AAA shortly thereafter.

Son of the founder, Brent Taylor, Executive Director of the AAA, elaborates on the early years: "My father started the antique aviation preservation movement. He founded the AAA a couple months after Paul Poberezny created the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). At this time, nobody really cared about old airplanes and their preservation. The association started in the basement of our house, a striking parallel with the EAA, which started in Paul's basement.

"Of course, the goals of the two organizations were different - the EAA focusing only on homebuilts at the time. Unlike the EAA, we took the deliberate decision in the 1970s to stay a grass routs organization and keep our focus on antique airplanes. At about the same time, we built the Airpower Museum on the Blakesburg site that my father acquired. Since that date, our concern is how to help each of our members with their projects - be it to acquire, restore or maintain in flyable status an antique airplane.

"At the moment we have some 6500 members in 170 chapters across the US, as well as a few abroad. We also sponsor eleven type clubs which are focused on a particular airplane. Our main event, in Blakesburg, is not open to the public; it is a gathering of regulars who are well-acquainted with each other. The airplane owners can leave their machines unattended without worrying about a kid climbing in the cockpit or on the wing or an adult poking at the fabric. It is one of the major attractions of the place: You can leave your airplane open for everyone's inspection knowing they will be behaving properly.

"Our goal is not to make money or to become a political force. We do not make the first page of the papers. That is the way we like it; we are only serving our members. As you can see, when my father built this facility, he tried to recreate the spirit of a typical mid-western 1930s' airport with its grass strip, no tower, no radio, and a few wooden hangars...

"At 81, my father is still taking care of a lot of things around the field. He is showing up there every day. When you become a member he personally welcomes you with a little hand-written message joined to your membership card. We pride ourselves in knowing personally as many AAAers as possible. We still are a small organization, and we intend to keep it that way."

One might think this is pure propaganda. Not so, as the author can testify. A $36 yearly contribution opens the doors to one of the most wonderful places in the world of aviation, as well as introducing you to one of the closest-knit fraternities.

Brent confirms this observation: "This is very small world. Everybody knows everybody. I grew up in this fraternity and I met the most wonderful people. It is all a big family. During our fly-in we do not have any scheduled flying, no airshow acts, no paid attractions - it is just a bunch of friends taking their airplanes for a little spin on the spur of the moment and taking a few friends along. We just fly for the fun of it."

Lee Parsons, a retired airline pilot, has been attending Blakesburg for over 40 years just for the fun of being around good people and good airplanes. Flying the 1931 Waco QCF he presented at numerous airshows in the Ohio valley in the 1960s, he comments: "I restored this airplane to the last holt between 1970 and 1976. I decided to paint it the colors of the Gulfhawks flown in the 1930s by Al Williams. My first son, Doug, received his first flight in that airplane when he was only five weeks old. His younger brother, David, was not much older when it was time for his first flight. Now Doug is coming to Blakesburg with his own airplane."

Every edition of the fly-in now sees Doug trailing his father in his red Waco Cabin.

Another old-timer is Ed Wegner, inseparable for the last 20 years from his 1929 Spartan C-3. With the enthusiasm of a youngster a quarter his age, he gives rides to pretty much anybody who stands along the runway. A little sign and you are in the front seat of the airplane for a smooth ride. All the maneuvers necessary to operate the Spartan are forever engraved in Ed's genes. Maintained with a manic sense of detail, the Spartan looks as good as the day in 1984 it rolled out of the paint shop.

WINGS OVER BLAKESBURG

Air Classics, Jan 2005 by Auliard, Gilles

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