Forest Fires Threaten Annual Fly-In

Smoke-generated IFR didn't keep visitors from the annual event at Hood River.

Friday, September 16, 2022 at 08:44 AM ET

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An estimated 2,000 visitors attended this year's event, which is a major fundraiser for the Western Antique Airplane and Automobile Museum at Ken Jernstedt Airfield / Hood River Airport (4S2). [Courtesy: Farron Brougher]

Key Takeaways:

The Western Antique Airplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) annual fly-in at Hood River Airport successfully hosted 200 airplanes and approximately 2,000 visitors, despite challenging conditions caused by wildfire smoke.
The event serves as a major fundraiser for WAAAM, which boasts an extensive collection of over 325 vintage aircraft and automobiles, many kept in flying and driving condition.
WAAAM continues the legacy of the historic Evergreen Fly-in, offering informational seminars, rides in vintage aircraft like the 1930 New Standard, and a "People's Choice Award" for participating pilots.

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One of the challenges of flying a vintage aircraft is that, by modern standards, they are a little light on instrumentation that allow the pilot to safely traverse visual obscuration brought on by clouds or smoke—but that didn’t stop visitors from attending the annual Western Antique Airplane and Automobile Museum (WAAM) annual fly-in held the weekend after Labor Day at Ken Jernstedt Airfield / Hood River Airport (4S2).

“We’ve had fly-ins impacted by adverse weather before,” says WAAAM’s director Stephanie Hatch. “If people can’t fly in, they drive in. This year we had 200 airplanes, which is a pretty good number. They represented a good variety, we had the older style biplanes and antiques that are near and dear to everyone like the Stearman to modern aircraft fly in.”