Fabulous Fly-In

Despite less than ideal weather conditions, more than 500 people attended the annual Red Oak Flight Breakfast Saturday morning.

In his first major project since taking over as Red Oak Airport Manager a week ago, Gail Ernst said he was pleased with the fly-in, despite the less-than-ideal conditions.

“We had a good turnout, in spite of the inclement weather, partly thanks to the Motor-Ioway the night before,” Ernst said, referencing the classic car show that featured 80 entrants.

Including the traditional pancake, sausage and scrambled egg breakfast, 11 aircraft flew in for the event, including an “Epic” airplane, a P6 military trainer, and several smaller planes.

“We would have had more planes if the weather was nicer,” Ernst said. “We were getting pretty good gusts and it’s difficult to land with crosswinds.”

And while their arrival was delayed by the weather, seven Blackhawk helicopters flew over and landed at about 2 p.m.

Army National Guard Major Joani Ernst was in one of those helicopters, piloted by Stanton’s own Eric Nelson. The National Guard was conducting a training exercise at the time.

“The weather was horrible on Saturday for our training exercise,” she said. “It was a thrill to be in the Blackhawks, and I hated that we were late.”

In addition to the aircraft on display, attendees could also purchase a plane ride.

“It was sweet, awesome, a cool experience,” Tommy Elwood said of his flight on Advanced Air, out of Council Bluffs.

Representatives from Red Oak’s fire department also attended, demonstrating the community’s new fire truck.