Annual Valdez STOL Event Brings New Competitors, Former Winners

The accompanying air show also featured a beach landing fly-out.

The annual Valdez Fly-In & Air Show took place May 12-14 at Pioneer Field, Valdez Airport (KVDZ).

Key Takeaways:

The 19th Annual Valdez Fly-In & STOL Competition in Alaska was a successful event, attracting pilots and thousands of spectators from around the globe.
The event was exceptionally blessed with beautiful, mild weather, a rare occurrence for its challenging location in the Chugach Mountains, allowing for excellent flying conditions.
Dan Reynolds once again dominated the Light Sport class with the overall best score, though record-breaking distances were not achieved due to the lack of stronger headwinds.
Valdez is recognized as a preeminent STOL competition, considered "hallowed ground" for bush flying, and has significantly influenced the growth of similar events in general aviation.

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The annual Valdez Fly-In & Air Show presented by CubCrafters took place May 12-14 at Pioneer Field, Valdez Airport (KVDZ), featuring a beach landing fly-out, balloon bust, flour bombing, aerobatics demonstration and pilot roundtable. But it is heralded most for hosting the world famous Valdez short takeoff and landing (STOL) competition.

Pioneer Field is tucked away in the heavily glaciated Chugach Mountains near the head of a deep fjord in the Prince William Sound, just across from the Port of Valdez, and the Valdez Glacier that sits to the east of the runway. Despite how awe-inspiring this landscape may be, it owns a reputation for creating fast-changing and inclement weather conditions, but it seems the weather gods were smiling down upon the 19th Annual Fly-In & STOL Competition with blue skies and an abundance of sunshine. The conditions could not have been more beautiful for this legendary event. Regular Valdez competitor Dan Reynolds said, “Overall this year’s weather was some of the best I have seen.”