Reminisce and learn about flying

Fly-in, Fairchild Family Reunion planned at Hagerstown Regional Airport

July 14, 2005|by Cheryl M. Keyser

The sky will be filled with clearly identifiable flying objects Saturday, July 16, and Sunday, July 17, as the seventh annual Hagerstown Aircraft Services Fly-in and Fairchild Family Reunion attracts pilots, aircraft, former aviation employees and aviation buffs.

On both days, free 20-minute plane rides for children ages 8 to 17 in four-passenger Cessna or Piper aircraft will be conducted by pilots with Chapter 36 of the Experimental Aircraft Association. Passengers will receive a certificate identifying them as participants in the EAA's Young Eagle program.

On Saturday, there will be bus tours of sites related to aviation.

"There is a great deal of aviation history in Hagerstown," said Tracey Potter, owner of Hagerstown Aircraft Services and one of the founders of the Hagerstown Aviation Museum.

"There were several subassembly plants throughout the town," Potter said. "The original Kreider-Reisner factory was located right down the street from the airport on Pennsylvania Avenue, and the original building still stands."

Kreider-Reisner was bought by Fairchild Aviation.

"In the early '50s, about 12,000 people worked at Fairchild Aviation," Potter said.

Many former employees and their families will use the reunion time to reminisce, and share memories with the next generation.

Throughout the weekend, a variety of aircraft will be available for inspection, including home-built aircraft and Warbird combat training aircraft from the late 1930s into the 1970s. Owners of private, general aviation aircraft from a 150- to 200-mile radius are expected to fly in for the event.

"We are also hoping to have an aerial demonstration of the military's A-10 Warthog built here in Hagerstown and used in Desert Storm," Potter said.

One of the hangers at Hagerstown Aircraft Services will be decorated to resemble a museum displaying Fairchild and Kreider-Reisner aircraft, photographs, videos, old movies of Fairchild test flights and other memorabilia.

The fly-in coincides with the opening of the Hagerstown Aviation Museum on the second floor of the Discovery Station building at 101 W. Washington Street.

"We want to educate people on the history of aviation in Hagerstown and on airplanes in general and also give kids something fun to do," Potter said.

Cheryl M. Keyser is a freelance writer for The Herald-Mail.

If you go ...

WHAT: Hagerstown Aircraft Services Fly-in and Fairchild Family Reunion

WHEN: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 16, and Sunday, July 17

WHERE: At the Hagerstown Regional Airport (From U.S. 11 turn onto Basore Drive and follow the signs). Breakfast and lunch will be available both days.

COST: Admission is free

CONTACT: For more information, call 301-733-7604.

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