Palatka, FL Offers A Different Kind Of Event
By David Juwel
In a previous edition of Aero-News, we advised our readers about
the second annual Fly-in at the Palatka, Florida airport this past
Saturday. Well, if you missed this fly-in, you missed an excellent
event, because it wasn’t like the typical fly-in where you
just have a gathering of pilots and their planes with a few
dissimilar models interspersed among the food and trinket vendors.
No, not at all, this was much different.
The Key Larkin Field (28J) (pictured) in Palatka FL, is
centrally located and has approximately 68 airports located within
50 miles of it ... according to the iFlyWhere app. This gives
them the ability to draw from a significant cross section of
aviation, and that’s exactly what occurred. Approximately 125
aircraft showed up representing over 35 different models of flying
machines. Everything was there; turbines, pistons, rotary and fixed
wing, classics, experimental, light sport and parachutes. This
fly-in had an extremely cosmopolitan character about it.
Everywhere you looked, whether you were new to aviation or an
old pro, there were unusual aviation sights to behold. There was an
award winning polished aluminum Lockheed Electra Model 12-A Junior,
a scaled down version of the Lockheed Model 10-E that Amelia
Earhart flew. This plane was manufactured in 1938 and only 70 of
them were built.
Lockheed Electra 12-A JR
There was a fly-by with a large formation of Van’s
RV’s led by an A-4 Skyhawk fighter. Impressive watching him
fly-by in slow-flight as the compilation of different RV’s
maintained excellent formation in close proximity to him. The RV-8
Mavericks precision formation team also flew and displayed at the
show.
If you didn’t attend, you missed seeing a beautiful
Lancair owned by Doug Brunner. It had oxygen, a Chelton EFIS, an
11.5 gal aux fuel tank, and thermal de-icing boots. This aircraft
was raced at Reno in 2008. It is certainly a serious cross-country
aircraft. You missed the opportunity to buy one of the 5 Quartz
Mountain Aerospace Luscombe 11e aircraft that are for sale at this
airport. This particular model of the Luscombe is a roomy 4-place
powered by a 185 hp Teledyne Continental engine. It has a useful
load of 830 lbs. and cruises at 115 kts.
You also missed a 4-place twin engine Seabee (pictured, below),
a TB-30 Epsilon French Air Force trainer, a Turbine Legend, and an
AirCam; talk about dissimilar aircraft! And if airplanes were not
quite your lump of sugar, they also had an antique car show on the
field where you could have seen a 1925 Model-T Ford, a 1930 Chevy
Truck, and numerous other car models, all in excellent
condition.
But perhaps the best thing about the show was the aviation
camaraderie and the opportunity to talk with people like Jack
Hudson, a WWII aviation crewman who now has 21,400 flight hours as
a pilot.
All of this in a peaceful environment with a free lunch for all
who attended. One of the most enjoyable times I’ve had at any
fly-in in recent years. It was a remarkable single-day event, and
I’m glad I didn’t miss it. I hope I’ve whet your
appetite so you’ll be there next year. (Aerial photo courtesy
Key Larkin Field. Others by David Juwel)