February 2012
The sun was up but the day still pleasant when we made our way onto the Casa Grande Airport ((KCGZ) Casa Grande, Ariz.) grounds for the opening day of the 39th annual Copperstate Fly-in. I always get a little thrill when approaching the venue of a fly-in—big or small. I never tire of ogling beautiful airplanes on static display or watching them fly overhead. There’s also the opportunity to see old friends and make new ones.
Kent and I took a quick look at the grounds before heading to our booth and made note of the location of food stands and (sigh) Port-o-Lets. Some planes were already parked on the flight line and the steady hum of engines overhead announced that more were on the way. We also saw stands selling rides in vintage biplane, a helicopter or a SNJ/T-6 “Texan.”
The sun would stay with us for the three-day event and the temps did rise into the 90s making everyone pay attention to density altitude, sunscreen and shade. Mike Still, Copperstate president, told me that last year’s heat was unusual, as it’s usually much more temperate in Casa Grande in the fall.
Despite the heat, the 2011 Copperstate Fly-in attracted about 5,100 people and 500 aircraft over the course of the long weekend, Oct. 20-22, 2011.
Exhibits and Attractions
Piper Flyer Association attended for the first time in 2011. Our booth was set up in the large exhibit tent which was (thankfully) equipped with large cooling fans to keep everyone comfortable. In addition to Piper Flyer, other vendors attending included AvMap, Approach Fast Stack and Aviation Property Specialists. Aircraft Spruce and Specialty was there as well, and its booth was always busy with people snatching up the show specials. A smaller show like this one provides a great opportunity to interact with aviation vendors in a much less harried atmosphere than what you find at some of the larger shows.
One unique feature of Copperstate is the showcase fly-by. Instead of the more typical airshow with aerobatic routines, fly-in visitors can be featured alone or with other aircraft in a showcase fly-by pattern. According to the fly-in’s website, the fly-by is “…a racetrack traffic pattern designed to give the crowd a good view of the aircraft. Fly-by periods last up to 15 minutes, and pilots can choose to have information about their airplanes and/or themselves announced to the crowd.” By alternating booth duty, Kent and I were able to view some beautiful, spectacular and just plain fun airplane fly-bys.
The aircraft that really caught everyone’s imagination was the FLS Microjet flown by Justin Lewis of Lewis & Clark Performance, LLC. This jet is just the coolest little aircraft! It was fun to watch whether it was screaming by in the air, or as it taxied by looking like a child’s pedal car. For more information about this plane, see the sidebar.
Food and Shelter
We stayed at the Holiday Inn Casa Grande, the Copperstate preferred hotel. I would recommend it. The staff was friendly, the room was clean, the breakfast buffet was a real, complete-breakfast offering—and the rates were reasonable.
Tent camping and parking for motor homes and travel trailers was available at just $10/night, shower facilities included.
We sampled the food tents each day for lunch and the barbecue was outstanding.
We were mostly tired after a long, hot day at the fly-in (I know, I know; it’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it!) so we took advantage of some guest specials and had dinner in the Holiday Inn’s restaurant, Cabo’s Bar and Grill. All in all, they were decent meals and a good value. We did manage to get out for one dinner at Eva’s Norte Fine Mexican Food. We had a very good meal, but be warned: they don’t skimp on the spice.
Things nearby
We didn’t get to do much sightseeing (see above about long, hot days) but the local area guide shows lots of prospects for fun things to do.
The Casa Grande Ruins National Monument looks like it would be worth a trip. According to its website, this site was deemed the United States’ first archeological reserve in 1892 and was declared a National Monument in 1918. It is set up to preserve an ancient Sonoran Desert people’s farming community and “Great House.”
There are many other attractions within easy flying (or driving) distance. Phoenix is just 45 minutes away by car and there are casinos to visit—if that’s your thing—along the way. One of our members who stopped by the CFA booth for a chat said his wife had headed to one of the nearby casinos for the day, leaving him to tromp around the fly-in to his heart’s content. When we saw them both later, she said she’d had a blast and even won a little money.
Copperstate 2012
The 2012 show is schedule for Oct. 25-27, 2012, and we’ll be there. I’d recommend you attend for the fun and thrilling aircraft fly-bys, the friendly people and the chance to talk to some of your favorite aviation vendors, one-on-one. If you attend, please stop by the CFA booth to say hello.
Jennifer Dellenbusch is president of the Piper Flyer Association. Send questions or comments to editor@www.piperflyer.com.
Resources
Copperstate Fly-in
www.copperstate.org
Getting there
The Copperstate website (www.copperstate.org) has detailed arrival instructions for pilots.
Be sure to check the site when planning your trip.
Holiday Inn Casa Grande
777 North Pinal Ave
Casa Grande, AZ 85122
Hotel Front Desk: (520) 426-3500
Hotel Fax: (520) 836-4728
Eva’s Norte Fine Mexican Food
2033 North Pinal Ave
Casa Grande, AZ 85122
(520) 836-8236
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
1100 West Ruins Drive
Coolidge, AZ 85128
(520) 723-3172
FLS Microjet
The FLS Microjet is a high performance, aerobatic, single seat, low-wing, all metal, jet-powered aircraft built from an amateur homebuilder kit.
The design was originally developed in the 1970s by Jim Bede of Bede Aircraft, Inc. and designated as the BD-5. It was a public sensation and fueled homebuilders with dreams of owning a high performance propeller or jet aircraft at a fraction of the normal cost.
The BD-5 was dubbed “The World’s Smallest Jet” and quickly earned a reputation as James Bond’s jet when it was featured in the movie “Octopussy.” Unfortunately, the aircraft proved too difficult to build for most enthusiasts. Bede Aircraft, Corp. closed its doors after just a few years.
Through the years, a few airshow teams have captivated fans all over the world flying the BD-5, but today very few flying BD-5s still exist.
In 1992, Ed (“Skeeter”) and Richard Karnes started BD-Micro Technologies, Inc. (BMT) and began a long journey to update the BD-5 with today’s technology using current building techniques. After many years of research and development, BMT has successfully incorporated many improved design features in an aircraft lineup called the Flight Line Series (FLS) kits.
FLS’s safety advances include improved stall characteristics, increased pitch stability, reduced airframe fatigue, and modern technology integration focused on increasing systems reliability while reducing pilot workload.
For more information about Lewis and Clark Performance, LLC or the FLS Microjet, visit www.flsmicrojet.com/index.html.
