District XI - 2006/09
Big Bird Fly-In (June 3–4)
The Bell Air R/C Flyers held its 17th Annual Big Bird Fly-In on June 3–4 at the Bell Air R/C Flyers Club Field near Bellingham, Washington. The event was a great success with 24 pilots and 42 airplanes registered. We logged 80 flights on Saturday alone.
Saturday, the first day, featured perfect weather and the largest number of spectators we have ever had at this event. We also received good media coverage—newspapers and radio—for the fly-in.
Sunday was rained out in the morning, but the sun came out at noon and so did the spectators. It turned into a good afternoon.
Parade and Public Relations
On the weekend before the Big Bird Fly-In, the club participated in the Grand Ski to Sea Parade in Bellingham, Washington. This was great public relations for the club and the event.
Highlights
- Several large aircraft in the 37–40% size range attended.
- A pair of beautiful new 37% Ultimate BME biplanes were show-stoppers, flown in formation by John Vanderhage and Ken Huber.
- A new 40% 129-inch Yak 54 was flown by Kelvin Buck.
- A full-size AT-6 performed a fly-by, courtesy of the Heritage Flight Museum of Bellingham, and was a real crowd pleaser.
Thanks and Upcoming Events
This was a terrific event. Thanks to all the pilots and club members who worked at the event. Hope to see you at next year's Big Bird.
We will also be holding WarBirds over Whatcom in August — a warbird fly-in with no size restrictions.
Report and photos: Pat Eastman, president of the Bell Air R/C Flyers.
Until next time, Bruce.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
