Kicking off the regional EAA fly-in season, the Texas Fly-In, also known as the Southwest EAA Regional Fly-In, was well-attended, even though a weather system stretching from New Mexico to Arkansas prevented many to the north from attending the 43rd annual event.
“We did all right,” said Stan Shannon, chairman and CEO of the fly-in. “Our numbers were a little off because of the people unable to fly through the weather. But they came from the west, east and south, and the event went really well.”
About 750 aircraft and 6,500 people attended the fly-in at Hondo Municipal Airport.
Forums and workshops were very well attended, exhibitor space was virtually full, planes lined the ramp, and the RV/motor home areas were near capacity, Shannon reported. EAA volunteers also flew about 40 Young Eagles during the fly-in.
There were, however, some uninvited visitors the day before the fly-in as a swarm of honeybees took up residence in a corner of the volunteer tent Thursday morning. “Well, it is a fly-in, so we considered them early arrivals,” Shannon joked. The bees were removed by professionals by the same afternoon.
The date for next year’s fly-in has not been set, however organizers say they plan to move the fly-in to mid-October or early November.
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