Fly-in set to take off at Blue Earth airport
Sarah Day — Staff WriterArticle Photos
BLUE EARTH - This Saturday will bring a myriad of airplanes into the Blue Earth airport.
The airport is hosting a fly-in and drive-in supper - including pork patty sandwiches grilled by the Faribault County Pork Producers, along with beans and chips. The food will be served by the Blue Earth Area Future Farmers of America chapter.
The meal is $6 per plate from 4-7:30 p.m., while Pilots in Command eat free.
"That's to try and draw planes," Luke Steier said. "So hopefully we've got good weather."
Children under age 5 also eat for free. Soft serve ice cream sundaes will be available for $2.
The airport hosts this FFA fund-raiser because the Steier family - who manages the airport - believes supporting agriculture programs is important.
"We've gotten so involved with the FFA kids," Barb Steier said. "It's an FFA thing. When we first came here there was no FFA program."
The fly-in used to be done as a breakfast in conjunction with Giant Days. Tim Steier said pilots determine whether they're going to an event like this based on how the day looks early on, so if it's foggy in the morning, fewer pilots come.
The Steiers invited a formation of old war planes from Minneapolis to come down.
Tim also expects to see the "Bamboo Bomber" come, which his uncle Elmer owns. It's a WWII plane.
Tim anticipates seeing a lot of war birds - ex-military planes, and experimental planes. The war planes are owned by civilians and are from the Korean war time or later.
"There should be a nice selection of experimental air planes that will show up," he said. "The experimental world has just been blossoming. People that want to fly will find an economical way to do it."
Experimental planes are built by individuals.
"We still have that freedom with some guidelines," Tim said. "That's a neat freedom we still have."
Other events the airport will host this year are the Boy Scout Jamboree on Sept. 20 and a FAA pilot safety seminar sometime in December.
