Thousands in Simsbury had their eyes to the skies Sunday for the annual Simsbury Fly-In.
The event first flew into Simsbury in the 1980s as a way to raise money for the local airport run by the Simsbury Flying Club.
This year 350 airplanes and 400 cars were on display for a best in show competition. Visitors met with the owners to ask questions and get an up close look at everything from vintage aircraft to exotic cars.
“It’s close-up aviation. You can smell it, you can see it, you can touch it. It’s right in front of you,” said Steve Sykes of East Granby.
A former airplane mechanic who retired from the FAA, Sykes said he used the fly-in to get his aviation fix. His wife Debbie said they haven’t missed the event since they moved to Connecticut 15 years ago.
“Before we moved to Connecticut we never had the chance to see anything this up close,” explained Debbie Sykes.
The fly-in attracts an average crowd of 10,000 people.
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“They come from all over. We get them from Florida, Maine, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, pretty much east of the Mississippi and sometimes west,” said Simsbury Airport Manager Brad Griswold.
“It’s a social event. There’s a lot of people here that’d I’ve known, nice people that I meet, and then I get to talk to young people who are studying to be airline pilots,” said Jim Hamilton of Lakewood, NJ.
Hamilton said he was visiting the fly-in for the second year in a row. A former air force and commercial pilot, his aviation career became more of a hobby later in life.
One of the planes on display was a Piper J5 which was used to train WWII pilots in the 1940s at Simsbury’s airport.
“Sometimes they ask, ‘is this really the airplane, and I’ll say ‘ya’, and they’ll say, ‘I learned to fly in that,” said the plane’s owner Mark Horan of Windsor Locks.
Brent Connelly learned to fly for fun ten years ago. He took his passion to new heights when he decided to build his own airplane. A newbie to the Simsbury fly-in the Hackettstown, NJ resident said was excited to trade tips with other experimental pilots.
“I’m always interested in other aircraft so I’ll walk around and take photographs and chat with the pilots,” Connelly explained.
As they shined up their planes hoping to win best in show, the pilots stopped to talk shop and answer questions from the eager onlookers. Some even offered to give visitors a ride.
Among the 150 activities planned for the day, highlights included a powered parachute group, formation flying, and RC Aerobatic demos.
