Local Fly-Ins
A bit of AirVenture at home
LOCAL FLY-INS ARE GREAT FUN, and the character of each just adds
to that feeling. They showcase aviation at the local airport to a lot
of people who wouldn’t otherwise get to see and experience it. It’s
aviation hospitality and education all at once. And that is good for
all of us—maybe even essential.
We last attended the Golden West Fly-In at Yuba County Airport
(MYV) in Marysville, California, in 2009. No matter which gate we
used to enter the show, we were greeted with smiles, friendliness,
and open arms. This nontowered field (a fully manned tower is in
place for the show) simply opened its aviation heart to everyone. It
was a nice feeling.
Of course the hospitality, organization, offerings, and air show
don’t just happen by accident—they’re planned well in advance.
John Gibson is the Golden West Fly-In president. Around him,
which he mentions right from the “git go,” are 400 volunteers who
make it all happen, and we were lucky enough to meet a lot of them.
The offerings at the show were many: forums, classes, talks, and
displays. It had that distinct EAA spirit of “learning by doing” but
with a refreshing local flavor thrown in. I
can imagine all the local fly-ins having their
own character.
Kay Lyn Paine: The look of Golden West was
much like that of Oshkosh during AirVenture.
The scale is smaller, but the spirit is the same.
It takes hundreds of volunteers to put on a
show of this proportion. And they were there,
