I attended my first National Swift Fly-in at age 14. It was
1972 and my dad Clayton, had recently purchased a stock 125
Swift. It had been stripped of all paint except for one wing
that had been zinc chromated. I don't really remember having
much say in whither I wanted to go or not, but that’s
just how it was back then. Flying all the way to Kentucky
Dam was something totally different than anything I had ever
done before. We were one of the late arrivals, but by no means
the last. I was in the ninth grade at the time, and mom &
dad didn't want me missing much school.
The long flight from Fort Myers to Kentucky Dam was kind of
boring for someone who was not really into what was going
on. My dad made me fly and hold a heading while he checked
the sectional from time to time. When we were a half hour
from landing, I WAS READY! We landed and taxied down the closed
grass runway, past what seemed like miles of parked Swifts.
I started to get a little excited by this time. I recognized
some of the Swifts that were there like Jeanie Piper’s
and Hilton McNeil’s. Everyone we taxied past were waving
and smiling and I started to feel like we were part of something
really special.
I met so many
people that weekend. I met Charlie Nelson, Mark Holliday,
Jim Montague, John, Dave and Jack D’Arcy just to name
a few.
This fly-in
was held the Memorial Day Weekend, the same time of the
year as they are held at present. There wasn’t anything
much different planned for the fly-in back then. Okay, they
did have an airshow, with lots of Swifts performing. But
I don’t believe that was the main reason so many Swifts
showed up. The main reason for so many Swifts and Swift
enthusiast to be there back then was the camaraderie. That’s
right, having a common interest in a little two place all
metal tail dragger built mostly in 1946. Thirty eight years
ago, there were around 120 Swift’s at that fly-in.
These same airplanes today are 38 years older, and now,
it is extremely rare to see one, let alone two at a time
other than at Oshkosh, Sun-N-Fun or Athens TN.
It’s
August and there are only 10 months left till the “2010
Old Timers Swift Fly-in”. Let’s revisit briefly,
the 3 steps that appeared here last month.
If you are
saving money for your expenses for next year’s fly-in.
HOLD ON!!!! Let me rephrase that………by
now, you have put 2/12ths of your fly-in expense money aside
and you’re just about ready to set aside the contribution
for this month. Example ($100.00 for June + $100.00 for
July = $200.00 + $100.00 for August = $300.00.)
Your calendars
should all be marked with brightly colored
Post-It notes and must be visible to you on a daily basis.
The dates again are: May
24th through the 29th, 2010
You should
have made a mental note of the fly-in dates so as not to
schedule anything that will conflict with the fly-in. I
know how easy it is to have overlapping activities, and
not realize it until the day of. If you are working, have
you requested the time off to attend the fly-in? Write down
those dates again on the back of a business card and put
it in your wallet. Refer to that card anytime you are planning
a trip, getting married or having your appendix removed.
I really want
to hear from you!
Brad has included a link from here to my email address diamond2055@aol.com
Please take
a moment and email me the answers to the following 3 questions:
1. How are
you doing as of right this minute with your budget for the
2010 National Fly-in?
2. Have you memorized the dates for the fly-in and do you
see them every day?
3. As of right now, how many of you are going to be there?
The “Who
Will be Attending List” is already started. It’s
important that your name be on that list!
One final note:
It’s always easy to come up with an excuse not to
attend. For the 2010 Fly-in, you need to come up with
an excuse to attend, even if it’s a last
minute excuse, I am okay with that.
I sure hope
you guys are reading this stuff; the only way I’ll
know for sure is to hear from you.
More to come
next month and the abbreviated version in The Swift Museum
Newsletter. If you see an email from diamond2055@aol.com,
please be sure to read it, it may contain that last little
bit of motivation to get you excited and committed to attend.
Perry
Sisson
