How I Spent My Summer Vacation…
Lumberton 2006

I met Steve Parker, Fly-In director for Lumberton, at the 2005 Virginia Fly-In when he helped park airplanes. There, we talked about our respective operations and what he hoped to accomplish seven months later in North Carolina. I signed up to receive his electronic newsletter and when I noticed that they needed a photographer, I offered my services. In addition to being webmaster for the Virginia Fly-In, I am also the official photographer so I had a body of work to show him and (in spite of that) they accepted my offer. I had never been to the Lumberton Fly-In so I didn’t know what to expect. This was only its fourth year, there was a change in management, and it was Steve’s first time being director. Their announced goal is to become the second largest American fly-in, behind Oshkosh but ahead of Sun-n-Fun. Based on what I saw this is certainly possible. The physical layout and location gives them a tremendous potential for growth. There was evidence of an enormous amount of support from both the state and neighboring county. With a few additions such as more taxiways, they can easily support the same volume of traffic as Lakeland.

I left after work Wednesday and checked in to my motel late that evening after a five-hour drive. With some additional effort on my part, I should be able to fly there next year. It was advertised as a four-day event, but Thursday as mainly devoted to last-minute setup. Aircraft were arriving and the Red Baron squadron was giving rides to selected individuals. Unfortunately, my name was not on the list so I missed out on that opportunity. Aircraft, both GA and show, began to arrive more heavily on Friday. The Red Baron squadron was still giving rides but I still was not on the list, damit. The fly-in really got underway Friday evening with an abbreviated airshow followed by a fireworks display after dark. Normally, I don’t care that much about airshows except to take the pictures. This one was different though.

The Red Baron squadron was doing maneuvers based on the kind of training that my dad got when he flew P-47s. He had described them, I had read about them, and seen the diagrams in his training manuals, but I had never really seen them. There was nothing flashy and I am sure that most of the non-flying public did not appreciate the act the way that I did. They were far and away my favorite part of the show.

The most impressive flying act was Jim "Bulldog" Leroy in a modified Pitts. It was nothing but flashy and showed the limits to which a great pilot and plane can reach. Gene Soucey and wing-walker Teresa Stokes had a fine act in the modified Agcat. Based on the crowd reaction, the most popular part of the show was when Jim Leroy and Gene Soucey were flying while Les Shockley was making huge amounts of fire and smoke in Shockwave, a Semi Jet Truck. The attendance figures are reported to be about 40,000 people and I believe it.

Lumberton had more underwing campers than we do in Virginia. I think that the best setup of all was a couple who has the very first production Cherokee Six. They loaded up everything that they could possibly need in a flying minivan that was absolutely pristine.

There was a large contingency of Swifts. Only a few looked stock, most had been modified to some extent as Swifts so often are. The most interesting Swift variant was a T-35. There were about a dozen built as a part of a military procurement process that resulted in the T-34 being selected as the primary trainer. Reportedly only two are still flying. You could see the Swift heritage combined with military training requirements.

A selection of warbirds were there, mostly T-6s but there was one P-51 and one AD-1. On Sunday morning, I got a chance to see the owners of those two planes and I was reminded of the saying that people tend to look like their pets. The Mustang is relatively small and lithe, like a track sprinter or gymnast. The AD-1 is more like a football offensive lineman, heavy and solid. When you saw the two pilots together, it was pretty obvious which man owned which airplane.

There were not enough volunteers to get everything done, everyone was busy all days but the critical jobs were taken care of. Lunches and other such “perks” were much better than I would have expected. They were donated by local businesses as a part of the area support. As any fly-in volunteer knows, the high point of the event can be the volunteer dinner. This is where Lumberton really impressed me the most. It was catered and featured barbecue chicken or Carolina-style barbecue (go figure that one out!), two kegs of beer and assorted wine, and even a chocolate fountain with appropriate dipping stuff.

I had to leave relatively early on Sunday so I missed out on the last day’s airshow and all of the take-down efforts but I certainly plan on being there next year.

I took close to 2000 pictures over the four days, and based on the “blind squirrel” principle*, some are pretty good. I have posted some at http://eaa231.org/ and others should show up at http://mafsac.com/.

* Even a blind squirrel can sometime find an acorn.