About 80 pilots flew into the Colusa County Airport on Saturday in a wide array of aircraft.
Vintage planes, including World War II trainers, experimental craft, and gyrocopters filled the tarmac for the 26th annual Colusa Old Tyme Fly-in.
The Colusa County Aviation Association hosts the event as a fundraiser each July, which includes a pancake breakfast served to the public.
Despite high fuel costs, the event drew about the same number of aircrafts as it usually does, aviation officials said.
“It was a great turnout,” said Doug Kinkle. “Who would have thought it?
Visitors to the show on Saturday saw some of the most beautiful aircraft ever to grace the skies, including a Candy Apple Red 1944 Beechcraft Super G Staggerwing.
The Staggerwing, named for its atypical wing stagger in which the lower wing is farther forward than its upper wing, was first built in the 1930s as luxury transportation for corporate executives.
Another popular plane at the show was a 1943 Fairchild PT-26 Cornell, built in the USA for the Royal Canadian Air Force. This plane, equivalent to a US Air Force PT-26, which was also on display at Saturday’s fly-in, had a unique inscription deep in the heart of the plane: the name Phyllis.
During World War II, women constituted 65 percent of the airplane industry’s workforce, with women building most of the small engine parts.
Production on the PT-26 Cornell peaked at 150 a month in 1943, and 1,642 had been completed by 1944 when production ended, according to the Canadian Museum of Flight.
With a wide selection of aircraft to consider at Saturday’s event, it was a 1973 Bellaca Citahria, piloted by owner John House, that garnered the top award for Best Appearing Aircraft.
Kindle said the light single-engine, two-seater is an aircraft typically seen at small air shows like Colusa. The plane’s exceptional paint made the craft stand out.
“We thought this Citahria was just a great example of what represents general aviation, something we maybe take for granted,” Kinkle said. “It’s one of the backbone aircrafts.”
Mike Bell, of Bishop, was recognized for coming the farthest distance.
The oldest aircraft at the show was Howie Cummings’ 1938 Lockheed.
The People’s Choice was awarded to 90-year-old Lee Barry and his Waltzing Matilda, the 1948 Piper Vagabond Cub he piloted from Lake County.
The plane, which Barry owned in the 1980s, sold, and then later repurchased, is not equipped with an electrical system, which requires the pilot to hand-prop the engine for starting.
The Colusa Old Tyme Fly-in is held to raise awareness and support for keeping the local airport viable for future generations, organizers said.
Although Saturday was not as hot as last year, most of the pilots were back into the air by 10:30 AM.
While many pilots were repeat attendees, there were a number of newcomers as well.
Steve Byers, of San Diego, made his debut at the Colusa Fly-in with a 1950 Piper Seaplane.
Byers flew in from Trinity Central, where he and a friend had been fishing off the float after landing the craft on a lake.
In addition to the aircraft, about a dozen vintage and classic cars were on display. ■