From June 20 – 23, 2012, Gateway Swift Wing is hosting the annual International Swift Association's National Convention and Fly-in that will be held at Creve Coeur Airport (1H0), St. Louis, Missouri.

We have arranged tours to the St. Louis Arch, the Gateway to the Westward Expansion, where there will be opportunities for amateur and/or professionals to photograph the Flying Formation of our very professional and experienced pilots. Some may want to take advantage of the tour of the Arch where you can view 360° from the top and then culminate your visit to the Museum of Westward Expansion at the base of the Arch. While there you will find a souvenir store where you can buy some mementos of your St. Louis trip.

Lunch can be had at the River Cruises across the road from the Arch at the Riverfront Restaurant or at the onboard restaurant after boarding the replica of the 19th century Tom Sawyer or Becky Thatcher. This is a one-hour narrated journey of the Mississippi River.

Another choice for a quick lunch is Laclede’s Landing where there are several restaurants, some small boutiques and entertainment establishments located not far from the Arch. Highly recommended are the Morgan Street Brewery and Hannegan's Restaurant. We went to dine at these outdoor restaurants after one of our trips to the Arch. If you choose to dine at either of these restaurants, we can make reservations two weeks prior to your trip to the city.

And who can resists going to the free Anheuser Busch Consumer Hospitality Center while in the city? Tours includes the Brew House, the original Budweiser Clydesdale stable, Beachwood Lagering Cellar, and the packaging plant. At the end of the tour everyone is taken to the hospitality room where you will be served a choice of beers produced by Anheuser-Busch. For those who do not like to drink beer, there are selections of sodas you can choose from. Before leaving the facility, you might want to browse around the gift shop for more souvenirs of your exceptional St. Louis trip.

We have also arranged for a tour of the St. Louis Zoo with Mr. Ken Johnson, retired President of AAA who regularly volunteers at the zoo. Drinks and snacks can also be purchased on the grounds for those who will get hungry during or after the tour. Or to make it more fun, you can bring your own picnic basket you may want to share with one another. After the zoo visit, we have made reservations for a tour of the Butterfly House on the way back to Creve Coeur Airport.

On Saturday, the last day of our convention, you are very welcome to join us while we head up the hills of Missouri winery country for a tour and lunch at the spectacular Mount Pleasant winery. Good views, good wine, good company, what else can one ask for?

DIGITIZE THE MEMORIES OF YOUR VISIT TO ST. LOUIS: Do not forget to bring your cameras as there are a lot of photo opportunities for everyone – young and old, amateurs, photo enthusiasts and professionals alike.

For those who want to go on their own, we will provide maps of interest of the St. Louis area. Some of the tours are reasonably priced. A few are even free. We will have more accurate information in our next update.

Back at the airport, during the afternoons when everyone had arrived from their tours and others finishing off attending the forums and demos at hand, we have planned a few activities and competitions for all of us to either enjoy watching and/or participate in. Activities includes short field take-off, short field landing, water bombs, flour bombs, poker run, flying formation competition for the duration of the convention. Again, we will have accurate information about these competitions as we go along with our updates. We will also have prizes galore for all winners of our competitions.

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND THE BEST NEW YEAR
YOU'LL EVER WANT TO HAVE!!

DON'T FORGET TO FLY SAFE DURING THESE HOLIDAYS.