Middletown Aeronca Fly-in 2014

Every two years, there is a gathering of Aeroncas back in Middletown, OH where they were made.In 2012, Allen and I were able to go in Rudolph, my Aeronca champ. We had a great time going to all the events, camping under the wing and making many friends. This year, we looked forward to doing it all again (except for the camping).

Thursday is an arrival day, with the first event being a trip to the U.S. Air Force museum on Friday. Unfortunately, when Thursday rolled around the weather was not particularly promising. Clouds in Virginia and West Virginia with storms over Ohio were what we had to look forward to. We knew we could make it to our first fuel stop though, so we opted to take off. This is the most interesting leg of the trip, and worth it in itself.

Rock formations on a ridge to the west of the Shenandoah Valley

Our route took us straight across the Blue Ridge, over the Shenandoah Valley and the mountains of West Virginia to Upshur County (W22). Though there is not really anything at the airport itself, they provide a courtesy car that you can take into town to a great restaurant called CJ Maggie’s. On this trip though, we checked the weather at the airport and opted to push onward since it looked like we had a break in the storms ahead of us.

Windmills on the last ridge before descending into Upshur (W22)

We pushed on over hills that slowly dwindled and gave way to the flatlands of the Midwest. We stopped at Ross County (KRZT), less than an hour out of Middletown, for fuel. Upon checking the weather here, it looked iffy, but we were confident that we could get at least a little farther, and we had no issue picking out several alternate airports (there are many in this area). We took off and flew for about another twenty minutes before it began getting noticeably darker and gloomier. We opted to turn around and head for Fayette County Airport (I23) to wait out the weather.

Less than an hour later, we were able to take off and made it into Middletown (KMWO) amid a few sprinkles. We landed on the grass, with only a little splash accompanying us. Fortunately this time, we had opted for a hotel and already had a reservation in town. Things were quiet at the airfield, and only a few airplanes were there. The registration folks had packed up for the day, as we had arrived shortly before a gloomy dusk. Some people were still milling around though, and I found one of my buddies from last time who was staying at our hotel and we drove over with him.

Rare low wing Aeronca LB

This year, we chose to take it easy and spend more time at the airport chatting with old friends and making new ones, so we skipped the Air Force museum trip (though it is very neat, if you are in the area). We spent quite a bit of time walking around and admiring the planes that were able to make it in. One of these was a rare low wing Aeronca LB that was in the process of being restored. The airframe was pristine, but the engine was still being worked on. A borrowed one had been bolted on for looks, and the plane was trucked in and given the place of honor it deserves, right by the tent. There were also some very nice L-birds - both L-3s and L-16s. Two very nice early model pre-war Chiefs were in attendance. There was a freshly restored green Chief with a fiberglass replacement cowling, and my favorite - an orange chief with its original cowling. The workmanship that went into that cowling makes it more art than machine, with compound curves galore.

Restored pre-war Chief which won high honors at Middletown

Saturday morning, the factory opened its doors for the factory tour. The original building has been torn down, but the company is still there. It was bought by a Canadian company called Magellan Aerospace and operated under “Aeronca, Inc” until sometime between the last convention and this one, when it was unfortunately changed to “Middletown, Inc”. The company now specializes in titanium honeycombs and builds parts for Boeing, Airbus and Raytheon, among others.

In front of the factory, which recently changed from "Aeronca, Inc." to "Middletown, Inc."

On Saturday, there is also Bill Pancake’s lecture, which is another highlight of the trip. He is the Aeronca guru and lectured on a variety of Aeronca maintenance tips, as well as answering questions from the audience. Afterwards, Allen received a call back from someone who had posted a 7AC for sale on the board, and we drove over to a nearby town to look at it with a mechanic friend. That one didn't work out, but it turned out fine for Allen in the end, as he later ended up buying one (with a partner) closer to home.

During the course of the fly-in, the weather had remained fairly miserable, with cells moving through. Very few airplanes were able to make it in. Where last year there had been close to 100Aeroncas present, this year there were only about 35. Several people gave it up and drove in and by Saturday there was a respectable gathering of Aeronca enthusiasts, if not the planes themselves. Three people had even flown in from Australia!

Part of the flight line at Middletown sitting under the gloomy sky

Due to the low attendance, at the banquet on Saturday evening, I walked out with an award for “Best Military Aeronca”. There were nicer L-birds than mine, but they all received higher honors. Still, now Rudolph has some bragging rights!

"Pasta Cube", "Potato Yacht" and chicken pot pie at CJ Maggie's in Buckhannon, WV. You won't leave hungry!

Fortunately, Sunday turned out to be a great day for flying, and the trip home was fairly uneventful. We did get to stop in Upshur (W22) for lunch at the restaurant I like. All in all, it was a great trip and we are already looking forward to 2016, when we can fly there in formation!