2014 Summer History Highlight: TAT Talk at Fly-In
The 2014 High-Desert Fly-In took place at the Winslow-Lindbergh Regional Airport, 701 Airport Road, on Saturday, July 26, from 8 am to 2 pm. Admission was free, and residents, tourists, and pilots were invited to Winslow’s historic airport to enjoy airplanes, history, food, and more! Go to the High Desert Fly-In website for the latest details on how to participate in and attend next year’s annual event, and find us on Facebook and Twitter!
Activities
The Winslow Rotary Club hosted a pancake breakfast from 8 to 10 am for $5 per person. Food was available throughout the day on site, and High Desert Fly-In polo shirts were also on sale. These shirts are still available for purchase (location pending).
Attendees were allowed on the tarmac to view the visiting aircraft, which included general aviation planes and medical transport vehicles. The Just Cruis’n Car Club also hosted a “Show-and-Shine” of vintage automobiles, including the 1940 Seagraves fire truck owned by the Winslow Historical Society.
Inside the historic hangar, representatives from Wiseman Aviation, AeroCare, Guardian Air, and the US Forest Service hosted displays about their current activities at the airport. The Old Trails Museum debuted its new exhibit about the airport’s past and present, Flying through History: The Winslow-Lindbergh Regional Airport, and the museum’s 2015 historical calendar of the same name was available for purchase. The Cibola Historical Society from Grants, New Mexico, interpreted the TAT Mount Taylor air disaster and more. Historian Erik Berg and author Robert F. Kirk were on hand to talk with attendees about the history of aviation in the Southwest, and Kirk sold and signed copies of his book, Flying the Lindbergh Line: Then and Now.
Presentations
From 10 to 11 am, Fred Gibbs of the FAA presented a safety seminar on the WINGS Safety Program and current events affecting aviation. The link to register was at www.highdesertflyin.org.
The Old Trails Museum hosted its Summer History Highlight from 11:30 am to 12: 30 pm, when Erik Berg presented Coast to Coast in 48 Hours!: Winslow and America’s First Transcontinental Airline Service. His visual presentation explored the Winslow airport’s pioneering role as one of twelve critical refueling points selected by aviator Charles A. Lindbergh for the TAT’s “Lindbergh Line.” Berg’s talk was made possible by Arizona Humanities.
From 1 to 2 pm, Author Robert F. Kirk presented Flying the Lindbergh Line: Then and Now. He used both video and images from his book of the same name to simulate a transcontinental TAT trip from New York to Glendale, California, in 1929.
Who We Are
The High Desert Fly-In Committee is a nonprofit partnership between the City of Winslow, Wiseman Aviation, the Winslow Chamber of Commerce, the Old Trails Museum, the Winslow Rotary Club, the Just Cruis’n Car Club, and the Winslow Council on Aging. The committee works throughout the year planning this exciting annual event and welcomes participation and financial support by individuals and organizations in and around Winslow.
