EAA Sport Aviation - September 2011

duty, and all are necessary and very much appreciated. And there are several sponsors who, worthy of note, are singled out and thanked at every opportunity. It all serves to add another touch of class to the spirit and fun that pervades the event.

This year there were 23 airplane entries in the rally. I was told this was a low number. They’ve had numbers in the 40s in the past. Most flew as crews of two. (Four eyes better’n two, eh?) There were two solos, six first-time entries, and airplane types from Cessna, Grumman, Piper, Lancair, Van’s, and Beech, to name a few.

I was in Bend for the end of the rally
and watched many of the airplanes arrive.
Race 77’s airplane said on the side, “The
Fred Baron.” The pilot’s name? You guessed
it: Fred. One of my favorites to taxi by?
Race 11, an RV- 10. (I have a soft spot for
experimentals, don’t ya know.) In it was a
mom—the pilot—and her two kids. As soon
as she shut down the kids piled out and
headed, lickety-split, for the FBO. Mom
said, “They have to go to the bathroom.”
By late afternoon all aircraft had landed.
As is tradition, most met and gathered at
the Shilo Inn hospitality suite. There were
hors d’oeuvres and a bathtub full of ice with
various cold beverages therein. All were
thirsty! I found a chair in a corner, sat there
with a writing pad, and listened.

“How’d ya do?”
“Better’n last year.”
“Not gonna win but better’n I’ve ever
done.”
And, looking over a book that had
pictures of the checkpoints, “Oh! There’s
that dang tower.”
The most common lament: “Those
stupid winds aloft.”
And, “Didn’t burn as much as I thought
either leg.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LAURAN PAINE JR.

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