On Sunday, July 8th, Ryan and John flew N266VA up to the Spurwink Farm Fly-In. Spurwink Farm is a private strip located underneath the Portland International Jetport outer Class C ring. If you stick at below 1500’ you’re good to go and you don’t have to call Portland approach. They were aware of the fly-in anyway. It was a busy morning with about 60-70 airplanes at the 1700’ slightly-curved field. Landing was a bit intense, with everybody watching you slip down between the trees and (hopefully) greasing a nice soft and short field landing.
We were apparently late to the party and we had to park all the way at the far end of the runway. We didn’t mind the walk, but we were a little concerned about the other airplanes taking off right over us. Pushing the tail off the side right up against some bushes helped solve that problem.
It was a pancake breakfast fly-in, so naturally we headed straight for the food. After a brief encounter with some other fellow pilots, the food was in sight! Only $7 and we had some delicious blueberry pancakes, sausage, lemonade, and real maple syrup. The food was a great reward, as if the beautiful morning flight up there wasn’t enough.
Following breakfast, we spent a few hours checking out all of the airplanes and watching people take off and land. There were a few very cool planes there, all mixed in with a variety of other aircraft. Everything from Carbon Cubs and Cessna 182s to museum grade antiques were flying around.
One of the pilots decided to have a little fun. He flipped his smoke system on and did some fun maneuvering above the runway. He also wasn’t shy about his super short take-off ability!
Finally around 1200, we decided it was time to head home. The flight back was beautiful but wow was it hot in the cockpit. It was easy to get past the heat though, as the views along the Maine coast are breathtaking. We also got a great view of the airstrip as we circled around from south to north, then back south again.
Taking a plane to a fly in is a great way to experience aviation yourself and share it with others. There are a bunch of places you can fly, from air shows (be sure to check TFRs and parking guidelines) to EAA chapter breakfasts, you’re bound to find something interesting!
Thank you to all that worked so hard to host this event. We had a great time!
- Ryan
Photos by both John and Ryan