Annual West Coast Fly-In (Columbia CA) 2024
At this point, the Fly-In Committee would like to recognize the work the late Robert Szego (see a Tribute to Robert) put into past years of this event. Despite his passing late last year, the event will not die!
Thank you to our sponsors and donors!
Without your generosity and support, it would be very difficult to continue this wonderful event! We ask all in our community, whether you were at the 2024 event or not to consider these generous companies when needing supplies and parts.
Should you attend the fly-in?
From one of our regular attendees, Ian Shere:
"You'll get to put faces to mysterious names from Facebook or the Viking Pilots forum. You'll have fantastic comradeship with like-minded pilots and owners, many of whom have more hours in their Bellancas than I have total time. That means real-world experience and real-world scenarios. Dan Torrey, the West Coast's resident Bellanca guru, will be there and his talks are not-to-be-missed. You'll learn a ton of stuff just from his talk alone. Plus, there's living it up in the outdoors. Expecting to see Frank on his 2-foot-thick air mattress again! We always enjoy camping, and, this year, we have a new dog to try out camping with. Good food, good fellowship, great instruction and mentoring, and just another good reason to fly (if you really need one!)
But maybe camping really isn't your thing - fair enough. See your options under "Lodging & Transportation". But whatever you decide, decide to attend. You won't regret it, you'll make new friends, learn some stuff, and, best of all, have fun. Oh, yeah, it's a dog-friendly Fly-In as our collie Sir Barclay the Faithful will happily attest to."
I'm sold! Give me the details!
When: June 6-9, 2024 (Thursday - Sunday)
Where: Columbia Airport, CA (O22)
Cost: $25pp plus food and raffle tickets (optional)
Even if you don't own a Bellanca (or derivative) or you're driving, you're welcome!
Attention flyers!! If you're flying in, please bring your tie-downs. Monitor AWOS on 124.65 and CTAF on 122.975. Generally, either runway will be available - paved, 17/35 (4673'x75'), or grass, 11/29 (2607'x50'). Both 100LL and Jet-A are available for purchase.
Thank you to this year's membership committee, and, also, to those who are assisting the committee in making 2024 the best fly-in yet!
2024 fly-In committee:
- Ian Shere
- John and Adele Christensen
- Jim Spee
- Frank Holbert
- Rob and Julia Swanland
- Dave and Shelly Gerkin
- Vic Manuelli
Click the images for larger versions
General Timetable
These details are subject to confirmation and will be confirmed as soon as all items are finalized.
Thursday (and before)
We now have some attendees arriving on Thursday or even before (in 2023 we had 2 attendees there on Tuesday!). Feel free to turn up when it works for you.
Thursday is the preliminary setup of stalls and booths, and making sure we have everything (as much as possible) in place.
Friday
- Most attendees are arriving. Come on up to the registration booth and check-in. Find your campsite (if you're camping) and catch up with friends, old and new.
- Usually, we have a speaker on some aviation-related topic around 4pm, just before dinner.
- Dinner is catered and should be paid for on the registration form.
Saturday
- Roundtables for the various types of aircraft (Super Viking, High-wing & Aeronca, and Triple Tails) just before lunch.
- Lunch is catered and should be paid for on the registration form.
- Tours and events will be held in the early afternoon. These should be paid for on the registration form.
- The "must attend" event of the weekend is Dan Torrey's maintenance talk at 4pm, just before dinner.
- Dinner is catered and should be paid for on the registration form.
- Towards the end of dinner, we start our wrap-up of Saturday with prize giving and a general roasting of fellow attendees! v
- Picture-slot plaques will be awarded for People's Choice, Best High-Wing, Best Triple-Tail, Best Viking, Best Aeronca, Oldest airplane in attendance, Winner Flour Bombing and Shortest Landing contest, and Longest distance flown to the fly-in. Then we'll draw the winners of the Raffle Prizes.
Sunday
Tidy up, pack up, and head home!
Another successful fly-in and a bunch of happy campers (and pilots)! As the first fly-in after Robert Svego's passing, this one was a little more laid-back than previous years, but still featured the ever-popular Friday evening talk by retired Delta Captain Steve Krikorian, and the equally popular Saturday presentation by Bellanca's West Coast mechanic-guru, Dan Torrey of MARS Aviation. Thank you to all our sponsors/donors who contributed to our massive Saturday night raffle (and roasting!!) event, and congratulations to all the winners of the prizes and awards.
Planning is already underway for next year's event. We look forward to seeing you there in 2025!