A huge Thank You to Fred Juhos and Henry Hochberg for a great fly-in!  Great weather, great planning, and just loads of fun for everyone.

We just wrapped up our 3^rd Wings to Walla Walla Fly-In and by all accounts it was the best yet.  New for this year, we were pleased to accept an offer to co-organize with the Seattle Chapter of the Mercedes- Benz Club of America.  They had a member that lived in Walla Walla and we worked with him to make arrangements that would bring the two groups together. The event now officially became “Wings and Wheels to Walla Walla 2011.”  He also brought the airport on board who’d never played a role in our efforts before.  The airport then coordinated with a visiting B-25 who was giving rides and a bi-plane ride vendor.  Angel Flight NW decided to schedule their meeting in conjunction with our fly-in and finally, the FBO decided to chip in for a pancake breakfast on Sunday to welcome their customers from the local aviation community to mix it up with all of us.

By noon on Friday there were already 15 members of our group tied down and mingling or off to start their wine tasting.  Walla Walla has about 20 wineries right on the airport grounds.  The old barracks and hangars are promoted to the local wine industry as start-up spaces.  We made arrangements for a few wineries to waive their tasting fee when our members showed up with commemorative glasses that we created for the event.  Our first meet and greet with the Mercedes group began at a social dinner event.  A glass of wine goes a long way to break the ice between strangers.  We’d been tipped off that some of the drivers wanted rides in our planes.  So we suggested that buying a pilot a glass or bottle is a great way to make a friend.   There was much fun made of this proposal and for a few persistent drivers, it worked.

The drivers were mostly staying at one hotel where they’d been provided with hoses and buckets so they could shine up their vehicles.  In the morning, we found their shiny Mercedes’ all lined up facing the aircraft all tied down on the ramp.  It looked like some kind of personal transportation stand-off.  Behind the tidy row of immaculate Mercedes were an eclectic collection of classics, hotrods and muscle cars from another club that joined in the fun.    The public was invited to view the aircraft and automobiles for a brief period Saturday morning.  They meandered around and squinted to see panels full of sleeping gauges and switches.

When the public event wrapped up the Mercedes folks moved their cars in for a nice photo op of Mercedes stars and Mooney tails.  Then the canopy covers went back on and everyone took off for more wine tasting.  The Walla Walla area has over 150 wineries with many of their wines winning awards and scoring in the 90 point range.

Saturday’s dinner was held at a sculpture garden associated with a local foundry.  By now the two groups were sharing tables and getting along quite well.  Sunday morning was CAVU for breakfast and the melancholy of farewells.  About 100 folks attended some or all of the event.  We were split pretty evenly between drivers and flyers.  The furthest distance award goes to Steve and Karen Roberts who flew all the way from Tennessee in their beautiful M20E. Ms. Obsession.  Peoples’ Choice awards as voted on by the drivers were Adam Fineberg’s highly modified J model which tied with CK Haun’s  231 which is also red.

There is no doubt that we educated and informed a thoughtful group of people about the joys of flight and we also learned about their passion and commitment to their sleek steeds.  But there is also no doubt that when it was over, we flew home.  They drove.  As one Moooney pilot mentioned, "When you accelerate to 65 in a Mercedes and then pull on the wheel, nothing exciting happens!"

See you at the next fly-in!