BUCYRUS – The Pancake Breakfast and Fly-In at Port Bucyrus Airport is back again with some crowd favorites and a few additions to the day’s festivities.
The event, which has “taken off” since its inception during the city’s Bicentennial celebration, is set for Saturday, Sept. 16, from 8 am. to 6 p.m. Organizers moved it up a month from October, hoping for better weather.
“Theoretically the long-range forecast looks pretty good,” said Fred Fischer, director of the Fly-In and a longtime pilot himself. “It should be real comfortable and a lot of fun. It should be a good day, a fun day for everyone.”
The day will kick off with a pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon in the Hord Hangar put on by the Bucyrus Kiwanis Club. Tickets are $10 for the all-you-can-eat meal, but children 10 and under are free.
A flea market and a car show are making their fly-in debut this year, Fischer said. Several vendors are showing up for the flea market, he said, and the local Corvette group is helping plan the car show, which runs all day.
Of course, the day wouldn’t be complete without the B-25 “Champaign Gal” based in Urbana, Ohio, which is due to land around 9 a.m. For $5, visitors can also check out the cockpit of the twin-engine World War II bomber, with tours until 2:30 p.m.
A presentation, “The Impossible Turn – Engine Failure After Takeoff,” will be given by the FAA safety Team (FAAST) at 9:30 a.m. in the Ballou Skies Aviation T-Hangar, followed by Adam Dutko’s presentation “Dealing with Emergencies” at 11:00.
Local pilot Peg Ballou of Ballou Skies Aviation will talk about the life of aviation pioneer Lauretta Schimmoler at 1 p.m. in the same hangar. Schimmoler was the airport’s founder as well as the first woman in the country to manage an airport.
Hot air balloons will be launched at 3 p.m., weather permitting, Fischer said. In addition, food trucks will be open from 11:30 to 5 in the Hord Hangar, offering bratwurst, hotdogs, kettle corn, beverages, and other fare.
The goal of the fly-in, Fischer said, is twofold – to promote the airport and its economic impact on Crawford County and to raise enough money to buy a monument there recognizing Schimmoler’s many achievements in the field of aviation.