Article and Photos By Ted Luebbers
The aftereffects of Hurricane Helene concerned members of the Experimental Aircraft Association for their planned Fly-In Drive-In event.
As luck would have it the Leesburg International Airport in Leesburg FL suffered no damage and Saturday morning September 28, 2024 blessed them with beautiful flying weather.
The storm that pummeled the west coast of Florida and a large area of the panhandle treated this part of Central Florida more gently, with a few rain squalls and winds in the 50-miles per-hour range.
Some area pilots must have still felt a bit skittish about pulling their planes out of their hangars and making the trip because only three aircraft showed up.
However, the large grassy area opposite the EAA Chapter 534 hangar filled up fast. It’s a good thing this event was billed as both a Fly-In and a Drive-In.
One attendee pulled in asking where the Leesburg Air Show was. When told there was no air show here today, he was quite perplexed because it stated on his cell phone that there was a show today. When he looked more closely at it, he discovered the air show was at the Leesburg International Airport in Leesburg VA. Realizing that he could not make the show in time, he opted to attend the EAA Chapter 534 Fly-In breakfast instead.
Counting attendees and members there were about 60 folks who took full advantage of the blueberry pancakes, sausages and all the breakfast treats.
Tables and chairs were set up in tents in front of the hangar to shield everybody from the hot FL sun. Old friends and new friends got together and swapped a lot of flying stories and had a good time.
EAA Chapter 534 hosts two Fly-In Drive-Ins each year, in the spring and in the fall. As this is a fundraiser, donations are appreciated and the money raised is used to support the chapter’s youth programs and projects being worked on at the hangar.
If you want more information about EAA and Chapter 534 you may go to the following web sites. < www.eaa.org> and www.eaachapter534.org
