2009 was the first time my dad and I went to the Marysville Golden West Fly-In and Airshow, and boy did we have a blast!  Interestingly enough, at the hotel that we were staying at, I met Debbie Wiser and Jay Wiser from Lockheed.  He does the weather briefing for the performers! 

 

The Fly-In is really neat because all kind of nice pilots bring their beautiful airplanes to just hang out and visit.  There were some really beautiful planes there.  The EAA Young Eagles did flights and I saw a whole lot of kids lined up for rides.  I remembered when I first did that.  I wouldn’t be where I am now if there wasn’t a Young Eagles program.

 

On top of it all, there was an airshow, too!  First, Melissa Pemberton circled her new husband Rex Pemberton in her Extra 540 while Rex was parachuting down in a Wing suit! When Rex touched the ground, Melissa tore up the skies in her Edge 540.  Wow!  She’s so good that she’s been invited to compete at the World Aerobatic Championships!

 

Then some Reno sports class racers did a demo of speed and agility while tearing up a race track in the sky.  Next, Tim Decker, who just retired from the USAF, tumbled and twisted around the sky in his beautiful Pitts S2B.  When Tim had just landed, Greg Colyer took off in his amazing T-33 Shooting Star and exhilarated the crowd going well over 400 knots!  Then, Eddie Andreini shot into the sky with his amazing red Yak-9, doing spins and rolls, fast but always graceful.  After Eddie, 6 AT-6’s took off and did sleek and agile formation passes.  To round off the show, the Canadian Northern Aeros - Kevin Hopkins flying the Sukhoi Su-29 and Jerzy Strzyz flying the Su-26 - completely and totally decimated the skies, flying aerobatics beyond imagination! 

 

I met Lyn Freeman who is the president of Build-a-Plane.  We had a great interview, and then he took me up in a Glasair Sportsman – that high school kids built!  I got to fly the airplane, and since Lyn was a CFI, he logged the time in my logbook, and while in the air, he taught me the basic rules of flying: climb, descent, left, and right.  Wow!  And the best part – he said he could arrange to give my school a project or a wing to work on! 

 

There were many planes parked on the ground, from antique Stearmans to new Cessnas and Glasairs. 

 

There was so much to do there; I wish I could have stayed for three days instead of two.  I didn’t get to see KidQwest, or the WWII Re-enactors, and there was so much more I didn’t have time to see!  I can’t believe it! 

 

The Marysville Golden West Fly-In and Airshow was a great airshow, and people of all ages will love it!

 

Special thanks to John Gibson and Carrie Schmidt of the Golden West Fly-In and Airshow who made the weekend one of my best.