Hood River Fly-In: Come for the planes, stay for the people — General Aviation News - General Aviation News

WAAAM’s 1928 Boeing Model 40 mail and passenger plane was resurrected by Addison Pemberton from the twisted and rusted remains of its crash in southern Oregon that took place in its first year of service. The wreck has been part of Oregon aviation lore for decades, and its display by the museum in Hood River is a fitting home for the oldest flying Boeing.

Add 200 visiting aircraft to a collection of 150 vintage planes, and that’s a fly-in to remember.

The airport at Hood River, Oregon, provides the quietly picturesque home for about 150 antique aircraft that reside at the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM). Parked among the vintage aircraft are some 160 classic cars, ranging from a pre-World War I battery-powered Detroit Electric Model 63 to a slick 1966 Corvette Stingray.

Pick your passion as you stroll through the display galleries of the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon. Warbirds? Yes. Gliders? Check. OX-5 classic biplanes? Head to the next gallery to the right. Classic cars? All over.

On the smoky weekend of Sept. 10-11, 2022, about 200 fliers and their planes dropped in on WAAAM for the museum’s annual fly-in. If the varied hardware sounds interesting, linger to talk with the pilots and others who traveled here. This fly-in is a relaxed social event where you’re likely to hear tips on flying, restoring aircraft, and maintenance.

And you’ll probably come away with tips on life. See someone who can use a hand pushing an airplane? Step right up and help. See a fly-in restoration you really enjoy? Let the proud owner know.

A call for volunteers to push the 1928 Boeing Model 40 was quickly answered, and the world’s oldest flying Boeing airplane was readied for Saturday afternoon flights around Hood River.

Do you like the museum’s ambience and rationale? Volunteer. That’s the magic of this and other classic fly-ins. People from many walks of life share their passions for aviation with newfound friends as they stroll the grassy field.

Terry Brandt launched WAAAM in 2006 with his personal collection of aircraft and automobiles. He can be seen circulating around the grounds during the fly-in, where attendees accord him the cordial respect given to aviation visionaries like Paul Poberezny.

Brandt’s passion now is a fundraising effort that will yield huge square footage increases for displaying aircraft and automobiles. Whether the car or plane addition gets built first depends on where major funding comes from, he says.

“We have no public funding here,” Terry adds. “Not now, or ever.”

He says he has too often witnessed the liquidation of a vintage collection when the owner dies, or when aircraft have been under legal or financial obligations. WAAAM operates under a non-profit model that does not make the collection vulnerable to eventual dissolution, he explains.

“Everything here is donated by somebody,” Terry says with evident satisfaction, adding the museum foundation was set up “for eons.”

And when people visit the museum and see how the airplanes and cars are loved and taken care of, that sense of stewardship leads to more donations, he says.

“We get cars or planes or something donated every week,” he reports.

When asked if he has a favorite aircraft among the huge collection, Terry sagely answers, “I love the one I’m flying.”

There’s a whole lotta lookin’ goin’ on at a fly-in, where pilots check the details on each parked plane, learning from each other.

This year’s fly-in tally of about 200 visiting aircraft is down from some years when it has topped 300, says Stephanie Hatch, museum director. But that’s not surprising, considering the pall of smoke blanketing much of Oregon that weekend, along with temporary flight restrictions in some areas for wildfire management.

The pall of wildfire smoke filtered the setting sun at Hood River, and left a visible ash deposit.

Hangar Flying Over Pancakes

Another timeless feature of fly-ins is the pancake breakfast, furnished at WAAAM by the Lions Club. It’s a great time to pull up a chair at a table with other attendees, and listen to their interesting stories.

On Sunday morning we passed the maple syrup with Mark Keppler and his grandson Malcolm Gray, who flew from Paine Field in Washington in a yellow Cessna O-1 Bird Dog. Mark works for an aircraft collector whose tastes run from the Bird Dog to a rare turboprop McKinnon Grumman Goose conversion. Grandson Malcolm also is interested in aviation.

“I’m corrupting him,” Mark says with a smile.

And then, just like folks sharing digital images of their kids or their pets, out comes Mark’s cell phone with the kind of photos one would expect at a fly-in: There’s the Aeronca Champ Mark soloed at age 16 and later bought. Here’s the yellow-and-white McKinnon Goose. And how about this view of the Champ landed on a gravel bar — Mark brings a lot of Alaska backcountry flying with him.

Mark has access to a number of vintage aircraft, ranging from a Stearman to the yellow Bird Dog.

“The most fun one to fly is the Bird Dog,” he says, noting visibility is great, and short field capabilities are good.

Mark figures it’s time to head back up to Paine Field. Monday will roll around and he will be back at work rebuilding a Beech T-34 for his employer. In an age-old aviation calculation, he offers: “It’s a three-year project. It’ll probably take six.”

A 1962 tricycle gear Beech 18 and 1930 New Standard D-25 biplane set the tone for the eclectic gathering of aircraft at Hood River for the fly-in.

We also shared our table with Kent Koster, who flew his classic Globe Swift from Cottage Grove, Oregon, to Hood River.

“I really appreciate a fly-in for pilots,” says Kent, who enjoys reminiscing about classic fly-ins and air shows from the 1970s in California, like Watsonville and Merced. But he’s far from living in the past, and strikes up an animated conversation with another diner at our table about the current state of a museum project in Cottage Grove. Kent is on a quest to land his Swift at every public airport in the state of Oregon.

And then it’s time for Kent to move on and check the status of any temporary flight restrictions due to wildfires, and crank the sleek Swift for the flight back to Cottage Grove.

The grassy tie-down field gets emptier and emptier throughout Sunday morning as folks fly home, satisfied with the friendship and the flapjacks. See you next year.

The annual Hood River Fly-In is held the weekend after Labor Day.

For more information: WAAAMuseum.org

More Photos From The Fly-In

WAAAM keeps burnishing its reputation as a world-class aircraft museum with acquisitions like the Ford Trimotor, a veteran of many years’ service at the Grand Canyon.

The deep airfoil cross section of the Ford Trimotor’s corrugated wing hides a cargo stowage compartment with swing-down access.

Living history accompanied the museum’s newly acquired Ford Trimotor as Pan American Airways flight attendants’ uniforms were modeled by (left to right) Hope Campbell, Holly Wagner, Betsy Smith, and Kelly Regan. The apparel was originally worn by Smith when she served as a Pan Am flight attendant.

Riding beneath a gawky yet graceful top wing spanning 45 feet, four passengers can be carried aloft along with the pilot of WAAAM’s 1930 New Standard D-25 biplane. The vintage barnstormer flew passenger hops as a fundraiser for new museum construction on both days of the fly-in.

Another view of the New Standard D-25 giving rides during the fly-in. (Photo by Greg Menton, all other photos by Frederick A. Johnsen)

Another classic from the collection of Addison Pemberton, this Stearman Speedmail flew during the Hood River fly-in.

A Stearman Speedmail made a smoky afternoon takeoff during the annual fly-in. Wildfires made their presence known with smoke and fine ash.

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