thedrifter
05-26-08, 08:18 AM
Watsonville Fly-In and Air Show makes final pass for the year
Jennifer Squires - Sentinel Staff Writer
Santa Cruz Sentinel
Article Launched:05/26/2008 01:33:05 AM PDT
WATSONVILLE -- Wearing a black U.S. Marines baseball cap, 89-year-old Ole Haggen patiently waited for the old military planes to take off at the 44th Annual Fly-in and Air Show on Sunday morning.
"It's not the first one I've seen," said Haggen, who served with the Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
He sat in his wheelchair with a red 49ers blanket across his knees about three rows back from the runway on Sunday. His daughter, Carol Kimbrough, and her husband, David, were seated on an adjacent hay bale. The family has been to the air show a dozen times and the Kimbroughs even flew in past events.
"It's more fun to fly," Carol Kimbrough said.
But the show still impresses Haggen, who used to fly a Piper.
"They do all they can do except fly into the ground," he said.
Haggen was a Marine, but he went pilot training and was qualified to fly a C-Plane during the war. Estigmatism kept him grounded "and that's probably why I'm here," said Carol Kimbrough, a longtime Santa Cruz County resident who now lives in Salinas.
The Air Show, a Memorial Day Weekend mainstay for almost a half-century, drew big crowds Saturday and Sunday after a lackluster showing Friday, according to Fly-in Executive Director Theo Wierdsma.
Erma Klein of Watsonville brought her parents, Joe and Minnie Gonzalez, who are visiting from Texas, to the event Sunday morning after her father saw the large planes land at their airport and had to get a closer look.
"This is the first time I've seen something like this," Minnie Gonzalez said.
Judges on Saturday selected the 2008 Grand Champion aircraft, a 1943 Meyers OTW bi-plane owned by Joey Laurie and Brittany Sahkian of Fresno.
The restored white bi-plane has red stripes and wooden propeller.
"It's a really neat plane," Wierdsma said.
The Grand Champion is chosen after judges assess technical and cosmetic aspects of the planes. The award means the plane will be featured on event posters and all of the logo wear for the 2009 Air Show.
"The guy's very proud of it," Wierdsma said of Joey Sahkian.
Contact Jennifer Squires at 429-2449 or jsquires@santacruzsentinel.com.
Ellie
Jennifer Squires - Sentinel Staff Writer
Santa Cruz Sentinel
Article Launched:05/26/2008 01:33:05 AM PDT
WATSONVILLE -- Wearing a black U.S. Marines baseball cap, 89-year-old Ole Haggen patiently waited for the old military planes to take off at the 44th Annual Fly-in and Air Show on Sunday morning.
"It's not the first one I've seen," said Haggen, who served with the Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
He sat in his wheelchair with a red 49ers blanket across his knees about three rows back from the runway on Sunday. His daughter, Carol Kimbrough, and her husband, David, were seated on an adjacent hay bale. The family has been to the air show a dozen times and the Kimbroughs even flew in past events.
"It's more fun to fly," Carol Kimbrough said.
But the show still impresses Haggen, who used to fly a Piper.
"They do all they can do except fly into the ground," he said.
Haggen was a Marine, but he went pilot training and was qualified to fly a C-Plane during the war. Estigmatism kept him grounded "and that's probably why I'm here," said Carol Kimbrough, a longtime Santa Cruz County resident who now lives in Salinas.
The Air Show, a Memorial Day Weekend mainstay for almost a half-century, drew big crowds Saturday and Sunday after a lackluster showing Friday, according to Fly-in Executive Director Theo Wierdsma.
Erma Klein of Watsonville brought her parents, Joe and Minnie Gonzalez, who are visiting from Texas, to the event Sunday morning after her father saw the large planes land at their airport and had to get a closer look.
"This is the first time I've seen something like this," Minnie Gonzalez said.
Judges on Saturday selected the 2008 Grand Champion aircraft, a 1943 Meyers OTW bi-plane owned by Joey Laurie and Brittany Sahkian of Fresno.
The restored white bi-plane has red stripes and wooden propeller.
"It's a really neat plane," Wierdsma said.
The Grand Champion is chosen after judges assess technical and cosmetic aspects of the planes. The award means the plane will be featured on event posters and all of the logo wear for the 2009 Air Show.
"The guy's very proud of it," Wierdsma said of Joey Sahkian.
Contact Jennifer Squires at 429-2449 or jsquires@santacruzsentinel.com.
Ellie