by Dick King

The Annual GlaStar Fly-in at Rough River, Kentucky was a huge success in spite of bad weather. We had six flying GlaStars from all over the Midwest that were able to get in despite mostly IFR conditions. Weather conditions on Friday were better, however Saturday’s weather turned sour and remained that way for the remainder of the weekend. Five of the Stars arrived on Friday and Sheril Helton surprised us when he found a break in the weather and landed on Saturday. After the fly-in I received several emails from other GlaStar pilots that said that weather conditions were just too bad for them to continue on or to even start the trip. Although the weather dampened our outdoor activities it increased our indoor activities. We spent a lot of time in the cabin and we didn’t even come close to running out of food, snacks, and adult beverages. Considering the weather, we had a good turnout from the GlaStar Association. Total Fly-in attendance was way down; usually there are hundreds of aircraft attending this event, but this year, less than one hundred were able to make it.

Saturday activities included GlaStar gazing, picture taking, door prize drawings, group discussions, show and tell, and of course plenty of eating and drinking. Don Muhlnickel shared some of his award winning (his GlaStar won the prestigious Bronze Lindy Award at AirVenture 2002) ideas with us during a Show and Tell session. Don did a demonstration of his very popular Retractable Step that fills the unused tail wheel gear leg sockets to make an entry step. These are not only attractive, they are very functional and retract back into the gear leg hole when flying or parked. Don also did a show and tell of some of his other innovations. This is exactly the kind of interaction that we were looking for from our GlaStar builders. You can find more information on Don’s products in the Third Quarter 2002 GlaStar Flyer, and yes they are available for purchase.

Russ James shared his technique on how to cut the nose wheel in half with great accuracy and ease. Max Calkin explained how he beefed up the rear section of the fuselage (between Bulkhead A and B) with a pre-fabricated length of DBM angle bonded along each interior side. There were many great ideas and techniques shared by all of the builders. I can’t wait until next year.

Because last years Fly-in was canceled (911 tragedy), we had plenty of door prizes to award. A case of Phillips 66 Aviation oil went to each of the following GlaStar pilots: Jerry Hostetler, Max Calkin, Russ James, Don Muhlnickel, and Sheril Helton. Each of the following received a Perma-Grit sanding block kit: Sigurd Ganswindt, Gerald Clayton, and Tom Eggers. $25 gift certificates from Aircraft Spruce went to Jerry Hostetler and Bill McAuliffe. Others winners received Glastar shirts, hats, and more. Oh yes, we will have prizes next year, and we will have better weather.

2002 Fly-in Pictures

Click on each Picture to Enlarge