Fly-in connects community to the sky

The Sanders County Pilots Association (SCPA) hosted their annual fly-in Saturday at the Thompson Falls Airport. More than 100 community members turned out to observe the planes, enjoy a pancake breakfast and even take a ride in an airplane.

While the weather wasn't the best for flying on Saturday, nearly a dozen pilots braved the late spring storms to attend the Thompson Falls event. Another dozen volunteers helped run activities and cook breakfast.

"I thought it went very well," said SCPA President Bob Rice. "We were concerned about the weather and it was a little cool, but we had a great turnout."

Rice, Dan Normandeau and Hank Galpin of Kalispell took up community members who won a drawing to compete in the flour drop. The pilots circled the airport and as they approached a target, community members dropped a plastic bag of flour to try and hit the target. Theo Nygaard of Thompson Falls was closest to the target, dropping the flour within 11 feet.

Another activity was a ping pong ball drop. Pilots dropped 200 ping pong balls from the air and local children had a sort of Easter egg hunt as they gathered up the balls, some of which were marked for prizes.

Galpin had his 1929 TravelAir 6-B at the fly-in. Community members enjoyed checking out the TravelAir and the other planes during the fly-in.

Tom Gummer, a 1967 Thompson Falls High School graduate, brought his 1941 UPF7 Waco biplane that has been completely rebuilt. Gummer said the plane took two years to restore. "It's kind of a vanishing art, these old airplanes," Gummer said. Gummer told the story of how at the fair in Plains when he was little, a pilot was offering rides for a penny a pound. That helped him become interested in aviation, and he has spent his career as a pilot and flight instructor. He flew DC-3 airplanes, hauling smoke jumpers for the Forest Service, and worked at the airport in Missoula at one time fueling airplanes. Gummer said he splits his time between Kalispell and Lake Havasu, but likes to come home.

Kids activities included a paper airplane toss and pin the propeller on the airplane game.

The event helped raise money for an annual scholarship provided by the pilots association. Pete Normandeau with the SCPA said Harvest Foods in Thompson Falls donated frozen treats for the kids and the Wayside in Trout Creek helped order food for the breakfast. The SCPA, a chapter of the Montana Pilots Association, has 29 members, Rice said, and is planning other member events throughout the year. Rice said the goal is to have the fly-in every year, alternating yearly between the Thompson Falls and Plains airports.