One can’t help but feel a surge of adrenaline when you hear that first plane approaching at the annual grass strip air show in Lincoln each September. This event has been happening for nineteen years, beginning in 2005, and is still a big draw for families and aviation buffs of all ages.
The pilots land their aircraft and park them in organized rows to allow the attendees to walk among them and hear about each plane and how the owner acquired it. This year a Cole Camp man, Jim Stoppel, brought his Husky “tail dragger” (I’m told that is what they are called) and he put on great demonstrations of the aircraft’s abilities as he would rev up and in no time was aloft and leaving the ground like an eager puppy jumping up for its owner. He would buzz the local area before he came swooping back to the delight of a row of pre-teen boys at the security fence.
The Husky “tail dragger” was created in 1985 at Aviat Aircraft in Afton, Wyoming by Frank Christensen. He had tried, without success, to acquire rights to the Piper Super Cub but was turned down. So Christensen took the idea of the Piper, applied computer-aided design principles and simply “supered” the Super Cub. The result was what we all delightedly enjoyed Saturday morning as Stoppel put his Husky through its paces.
According to data the Husky can enjoy the heights of 10,000 feet but when it flies low its owners can enjoy postcard panoramas rarely seen by the majority of people. The plane is generally owned by people who are the happiest with the stick in their right hand, throttle in the left and the sweet satisfaction of a grass landing. It is definitely an airplane for adventures. It gave me vintage vibes just to look at it.
There were, according to the organizers, fewer aircraft this year but it had nothing to do with the popularity of the event. There were lots of areas surrounding Lincoln with weather unsuitable to flight, despite the great atmospheric conditions in Benton County.
Early morning attendees enjoyed a breakfast of biscuits and sausage gravy and when noon approached the pulled pork, smoked by Tom Miller, was served to hungry guests. Miller was awarded recognition for his cooking for the group and Jim Bentch was given a plaque for his many years of dedication to making the annual fly-in a reality. This was followed by the drawing for prizes provided by Lincoln Merchants.
As afternoon became a reality the planes reluctantly began to depart with the majority making one more pass over the small rural farm community that still has barns at the edge of town. Barns that no longer house draft horses to work the fields but now sport Barn quilt squares to attract the sightseers that come for a few peaceful hours in the quiet country town of Lincoln, Missouri.
