More than 50 aircraft attend Polson Fly-In
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POLSON — The weather on Sept. 11 was beautiful — sunny with a hint of fall in the air. Over 50 pilots took advantage of the weather and flew to Polson for the Fly-In, according to Carmine Mowbray, Polson pilot and one of the Fly-In committee members. Many local pilots brought their planes out of the hangars for show and tell, too.
One Polson area resident, Bob Russell, brought his black 1965 Delphin L29. Although Russell has exhibited the plane the last couple of years, this year he flew the sleek black plane.
Russell said the jet cruises at 300 to 400 mph with an absolute maximum speed of 500 mph.
Manufactured in Czechoslovakia, the jet was used as a trainer for Russian pilots who flew MiGs.
Another interesting plane was Hank Galpin’s 1928 TravelAir 6000 constructed of fabric and wood. Galpin flew down from Kalispell in the plane, outfitted with wicker seats, six roll-down windows and tiny sink and toilet. According to information provided by Galpin, it’s the oldest TravelAir 6000 still flying. The TravelAir was the plane first flown by Delta Airlines when it started passenger service between Dallas, Texas and Jackson, Miss.
Also on the tarmac were two aircraft from St. Patrick’s Hospital — a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter and a King Air 90 twin-engine plane used for Life Flight.
Pilots who flew into the Polson City Airport received a free breakfast of eggs, ham, pancakes, juice and coffee. Area residents could also attend the event and buy breakfast for $5. Apparently the chefs were kept busy turning pancakes because they sold over 350 breakfasts.
“They had to run to town twice to get ham,” Mowbray said.
After breakfast, everyone headed out to look at the planes.
“We were very happy with the turnout,” Mowbray continued. “Townspeople came, enjoyed breakfast and learned about the airport.”
Lt. Col. David N. McGavock from the Civil Air Patrol, Flathead Composite Program, could probably teach a class in aeronautics. There are 30 CAP pilots in Montana with five in McGavock’s unit.
McGavock brought a van of Civil Air Patrol cadets to the Fly-In. Kids between the ages of 12 and 18 can join the CAP and stay in until they are 21. Each cadet gets five hours of flying time.
“(Cadets) actually get to fly,” McGavock said with a grin.
Catherine Turk, 12, Kalispell, was one of the cadets. Turk is home-schooled and joined the cadet program in February. Turk was monitoring the runway for kids so they would not run out in front of taxiing aircraft.
So far Turk said she’s been on orientation flights “where you see how a plane works.”
“I had stomach problems and that was a good way to get rid of them,” Turk added.
Turk would like to be a pilot but maybe not as her primary job.
Many pilots fly part time or in their spare time, but still the Polson City Airport is an important part of the economy; it is open and has gas available all year round.
The Mission Valley is a very aviation-friendly valley, Mowbray added, and that’s a big attribute for the Polson community.
