Rained in Cola (local expression for Columbia, SC. and the opposite of Atlanta where no local in their right mind would call it Hotlanta) yesterday, pipeline reopened at 5:00 and all the gas stations are open. Looks like nothing but blue skies, 70-80's from here on out. I was going to fly the Wicked in but put the tandem Yamagyro on a trailer today instead. Are there going to be any time-to-climb contests? LOL. Looking forward to seeing Barry Thigpen (home 'port) fly his formerly Matt Novotny-owned and built Dominator tandem, chopped down to single, now with a wild Rotax 670 100HP (correct me if memory fails and I've got this wrong) smoker do his infield antics and shenanigans, taking over such previously occupied seat from Ron Awad.
What IS it about this airfield and the warm hospitality, outgoing friendliness, and absolutely incomparable great weather that seems to go with this fly-in every season? There is, quite simply, nothing like it - time and again.
U.S. gyro fly-ins have fluxed and evolved over the past decade, with the historically largest main-events flagging to just a handful of flying examples and participants with, at the same time, the smaller, more typically localized ones like Wrens and Barnstormers growing dramatically. With the 2021 COVID recovery this trend is likely to continue.
