October 20, 2019 - Benton Airport, PA Fly-In Pennsylvania Grand Canyon

Today, Saturday, was an absolutely perfect day to go flying:  sunny, warm, light winds, mild temps, great vis.  Furthermore, Sunday's forecast was for rain all day, so if you were going to go flying today was the day.  I haven't seen the Skypark as busy as today in a long time.  Almost everybody with an airworthy plane went flying at some point.  Even a powered parachute was flying around!  Today's destination for the Hangar Row A Flyers was the Benton Airport fly-in up in Pennsylvania.  I had attended four years ago -- Link -- and remembered the wide grass runway and great food.

We had Tom (Maule), Chuck (C172), myself and Mugsy (RV-8).  Chuck made a nice video of the trip:  Link

The pattern was busy but we followed a Grumman in easily enough.  Here I am parked in the second row.
   
The pattern was too busy to be taking pictures so here is a picture of Benton Airport from four years ago.  Because it was a little cool and overcast, there wasn't nearly the attendance as their was today.
   
Parked next to Mugsy in the second row.
   
The front row.
   
Lots of taildraggers.  Chuck's 172 is on the left and Tom's Maule is on the right with a nice looking Citabria in between.
   
The runway was 150 foot wide.  Mugsy and I did a side-by-side takeoff when we left; the only ones to do so that I saw.
   
The Hangar Row A Flyers about to cross the runway -- that's where the food is!
   
They had chairs set up for people to watch the flight operations.
   
The food was served in the hangar and there was seating inside the hangar and outside under the tent.  That's the line for the food on the left.  It never got shorter than that while I was there.
   
Looking across the runway at the parking ramp area which was huge.  More than 100 planes flew in I figure.
   
There must have been over 20 volunteers serving the food and drink.
   
Check out the dessert table!  As soon as someone would pick up a small plate of pie or cake, it would immediately be replaced.  All the food was home-made.  No frozen hamburger patties or boiled hot dogs at this fly-in!
   
 
   
Three flavors of homemade ice cream -- made outside the hangar -- were on hand.  Plus ice tea, lemonade or hot coffee.
   
We ate under the tent outside.  It was very pleasant on this mild fall day.
   
About 50 show cars were on hand as well.
   
Nice Mustang.
   
Mugsy telling me a story of how he once went airborne in an old Vette like this.
   
This car won the aware for best hood ornament.
   
See what I mean?
   
Looking across the field at our RVs.
   
Another colorful Mustang.
   
This Sedan gleamed in the sunlight.
   
An RV makes a low pass.
   
The crowd loved the low passes.
   
A mean-looking CH-750.
   
You don't see Army gear painted orange very often.
   
My friend Bob G. was on hand in his AirVenture award-winning RV-7.
   
I rarely see Kitfoxes anymore but here is a nice one.  The Kitfox was arguably the kit plane market leader in the 90's.  I bought a Kitfox Model 2 project, did some work on it, but never finished it.  I sold it but it never flew and has since been deregistered.  Too bad, the plane was very close to flying status.
   
Mugsy and I did a side-by-side takeoff and then a formation low pass with smoke.  Then we headed west to the entrance of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.  I was in the lead on the northern leg.  Here is the canyon entrance.
   
As you can see, there was a little color but it's kind of dull.
   
This isn't my first rodeo in the Canyon so I felt comfortable looking up at the mountains, if you know what I mean.
   
Very pretty.
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
Exiting the canyon at the northern end, Mugsy and I swapped places, and I followed him on the south leg.
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
BBB
   
 
   
 
   
Exiting the southern end of the Canyon.
   
Heading home, passing the Susquehanna River on our left.
   
 
   
Up at 5,500 feet at the top of the Chesapeake Bay.  From this high altitude and with the great visibility I can see the eastern shore clearly all the way to Rock Hall where I turn west to cross the Bay to the Skypark.
   
A good look at the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal that connects the Chespeake Bay to the Delaware River.  It supposedly carries 40 percent of all ship traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore, yet I have yet to see a single ship in it!
   
At the top of the Bay, I descended to make a low-level run down the Eastern Shore.
   
 
Checking out what I call the "Delta".  Not much color yet.
   
An old, abandoned tower overlooking the Bay.  I wonder what it was used for?
   

Back at the Skypark, this powered parachute was flying around.

Note:  a week or two later, the officers of the Essex Skypark unilaterally banned this powered parachute pilot from Essex Skypark and slapped down a year long NOTAM banning all Ultralights from the Skypark for a year.  This, after publically calling the Skypark the "poster child of grassroots aviation" in a ridiculous AOPA Pilot magazine piece.   And they wonder why general aviation is dying.
   
End of an era!  Bruce sold his hangar and there is already an airplane -- not Bruce's -- in it.  A lot of planes have been hangared here over the years:  Corbin Junior Ace, Kolb Ultrastar, Citabria, Pitts, Baby Ace, Cub, RV-3.
   
 
   
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