Best thing about the Fly In? Seeing yourself in the gleaming black plane, says 3-year-old Darren Tate
After last summer’s skyrocketing fuel prices, organizers of the 26th Annual Orcas Fly In were pleased to see the huge turnout this weekend. Bea von Tobel, the Port of Orcas General Manager, reported that by 11a.m. on Saturday, the count of fly-in planes was 112. She said that probably most of them were trying to escape the mainland’s high temperatures.
The Port sold out of t-shirts, sweatshirts and caps on Saturday.
The Port offers free parking, plane tie-downs and overnight camping, along with showers, for the event. It also bears the cost of bringing in portable toilets for the event. Von Tobel says, “We encourage our visitors to spend their money in town!”
Numerous Fly In visitors camped at the airport
A higlight of the event was the new Airlift NW emergency medical helicopter, on display Saturday at the south end of the port.
Dwight Guss, organizer of this year’s Fly-In, said that the Orcas event “is one of the most popular Fly-ins in the northwest, and it’s good to see old friends.”
Most off-island visitors had flown off by Sunday afternoon.
**If you are reading theOrcasonian for free, thank your fellow islanders. If you would like to support theOrcasonian CLICK HERE to set your modestly-priced, voluntary subscription. Otherwise, no worries; we’re happy to share with you.**
