Fly-In High
<p>Built in 1928 for commercial flights from Dallas to Jackson, Miss., a Travel Air 6000 takes off from Polson airport at last Saturday’s Fly-In. Replete with wicker seats, crank down landing lights and a miniscule bathroom with running water, the plane went on to serve as a “backcountry workhorse,” delivering freight and dropping smoke jumpers in the region until the late 1960s.</p>
<p>Polson’s Chuck Jarecki (at left), with his trusty 1975 Cessna 185. As a founding member of the Recreational Aircraft Foundation, he fights to preserve backcountry airstrips. “We’ve grown it from six people with an idea to 6,000 members,” Jarecki says proudly.</p>
<p>This 1943 Boeing Stearman biplane, belonging to Dick Schaus of Kalispell, was a big hit with those attending the Fly-In.</p>
POLSON — A dazzling display of planes new and old covered the ground and filled the air at the Polson airport on Saturday, as appreciative onlookers came to celebrate the timeless wonder of flight. The occasion marked the 14th annual Polson Fly-In, and the yearly spectacle brought recreational pilots and curious members of the general public together for an impassioned ode to aviation.
Mauri Morin, manager of the Ronan Airport and president of the local chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association, helped coordinate not only the Polson Fly-In, but similar events in Ronan and St. Ignatius that took place earlier in the summer.
Morin says that all of the Fly-Ins are intended to “let the people in the community know that the airport’s here and what we do, and come out and see aircraft and heighten aviation awareness.”
He notes that the airport provides a number of valuable services to pilots flying into town for access to Flathead Lake, and is home to Stene Aviation, a local company that manufactures Cessna parts.
Polson’s Chuck Jarecki, standing in front of his well-traveled floatplane, can attest to the importance of the airport.
“The best thing about the fly-in is the opportunity for community members to come see what the airport is all about. The airport is an economic engine in the community,” said Jarecki, noting that there are about 15 people whose livelihood is centered around their work at the airport.
With dozens of beautiful planes lining the tarmac, the Fly-In provided a memorable day for anyone ages 5 to 95, as proven by Polson’s Elsie Culver. Culver was in attendance to celebrate her 95th birthday in style, and was even treated to a free ride in the show’s oldest plane— a 1928 Travel Air 6000.
It was no accident that Culver chose to celebrate her milestone birthday at the Fly-In. A member of the historic International Organization of Women Pilots (also known as the Ninety-Nines), Culver’s extensive background in aviation dates back to 1949, when she started office work for the Johnson Flying Service in Missoula. Within a couple years, Culver had begun taking flying lessons, receiving a private pilot license in 1951 and eventually receiving a commercial license a decade later.
From then on, Culver was hopelessly stricken with the flying bug, becoming an avid participant in — and winner of — flight races crisscrossing the Big Sky.
Saturday gave Culver a chance to relive her aerial stunts of old, as she clamored aboard the black and orange Travel Air. Soon, the propeller sputtered to life, and the plane built only 25 years after the Wright brothers’ triumph at Kitty Hawk gently lifted from the runway and ascended into the brilliant blue sky for a birthday that Culver won’t soon forget.
The Travel Air wasn’t the only attention-grabber on display, as Kalispell’s Dick Schaus turned more than a few heads with his 1943 Boeing Stearman. Formerly a trainer for the Army and Navy, the classic, open-cockpit biplane has now been fully restored to its wartime glory.
A 24-year Navy veteran and a retired professor of math and physics from Flathead Valley Community College, Schaus says that a variety of factors have drawn him to the Fly-In.
“I know a lot of people down here,” Schaus says, acknowledging the golden opportunity to fraternize with other members of the flying community.
More importantly, however, Schaus notes that, “the small-town atmosphere and (the people’s) interest in airplanes” makes for a rewarding day across the lake.
“I own two historic military aircraft,” says Schaus. “They belong to the people. It’s important to share them.”
Susan Evans of Polson has been a regular attendee of the Fly-In over the years, and was one of many caught admiring Schaus’ World War II-era plane.
“They’ve had some really fabulous entries in the years that we’ve been coming,” said Evans.
“It’s great. We love it— there are always interesting people to talk to,” she added.
While the event offers the public an exciting and close-up peek at of the world of flight, the Fly-In is also important for the future of aviation.
Carmine Mowbray, who spent her day at the runway volunteering for the Recreational Aircraft Foundation, said that, “A large segment of the pilot population is at an advanced age,” noting that the demographic bulk of pilots are veterans who have continued to pursue their love of flying after the war.
Mowbray says that, specifically with younger generations in mind, the Fly-In is an important vehicle for “trying to encourage aviation and let the public know how important the airport is to Polson.”
Proceeds from the event- along with money generated by the pancake breakfasts held regularly at the airport- go toward defraying the cost of flying kids through the Young Eagles program. Morin reports that the event also makes an effort to donate to other charitable causes, such as the local food pantry.
The airport will be in the spotlight again on Oct. 6, when the area’s Young Eagles members take to the skies for their own Fly-In.