HOW TO PUT ON
AN EAA FLY-IN
An EAA Chapter
983 Guide to Annual Fly-In Planning
(last update August 2001)
PURPOSE
The fly-ins are first and last a celebration of flight and sport aviation. It is an opportunity for our chapter membership to socialize, fly and display their flying machines as well as hosts others of the same interest. It is also a colorful opportunity to share our passion with the public to include the youth and not so youthful. Fly-ins have become a primary fundraiser for the chapter through the sale of lunch and chapter shirts, hats etc.
DATE OF FLY-IN
The date of the fly-ins should be carefully studied by the chapter leadership in the fall or early winter of the previous year. The date should not conflict with other regional and local aviation oriented events to include competing chapter fly-ins in an effort to achieve maximum participation. In our area there are at least three other chapters that have annual events.
The fall may seem too early to begin planning but it is better to choose dates early, get those dates in print and circulated, and let other chapters work their schedules around your dates versus you around theirs.
Generally Saturday's are better than Sunday's and avoid holidays and holiday weekends as folks will have other plans.
SAFETY
In all matters pertaining to the planning and execution of the fly-in, safety of all involved regardless of the level of participation is the number one concern. Safety considerations should be given to everything from food preparation to aircraft movements.
Remember that many if not most of the folks attending the event will not be cognizant of many of the hazards associated with the movement of airplanes. When selecting the lead volunteer for parking be sure to choose someone that is organized and capable of coming up with a suitable plan as airplane movement is probably the greatest single hazard.
At an appropriate time prior to the event, like a chapter meeting, ask all members to assist as a safety liaison and help all volunteers to be cognizant of safety during the fly-in. Then promote safety the day of the event as well.
One hazard found during a fly-in is that children and adults new to aviation are not aware of commonly used terms such as "CLEAR PROP".
A call to the local Fire Department may result in the fire truck being on display during the fly-in and readily available in the case of emergencies. Volunteer fireman could be offered a free lunch for the service.
In conjunction with the parking crew, aircraft should be started only when someone is available to clear the area. Try to communicate to the pilots (using signs) to find someone for this purpose; make it the pilot’s responsibility.
LOCATION
The choice of location for the fly-in will be one of the first and most important decisions. Several local municipal airports such as Granbury Muni, Stephenville Muni, Weatherford Muni and others may be used. Private airports include Pecan Plantation and Nassau Bay. When holding an event at a private strip, invite all those that live in the vicinity whether EAA members or not. Runway lengths, obstacles, runway surface and access should all be considered. The convenience for the volunteers and participants should be considered.
An event held at a municipal airport will provide lots of free publicity, an improved standing in the community from the service provided through the chapter's leadership in hosting the event, increased membership, much more fundraising potential and the satisfaction of giving something to our community.
Regardless of where the event is to be held, a host should be contacted. This would normally be someone who owns the airport, manages the airport or has property on the airport. You will of course wish to secure the use of a hangar and restroom facilities. Note, portable restrooms will cost approximately $150 for the weekend if needed.
When hosting the event at private airports concern should be given to safe and predictable pattern operations and noise, as the local residents will note the increased traffic.
INSURANCE
Chapter 983, as required by EAA Headquarters, annually purchases chapter insurance. Headquarters requires the purchase of $1million. We have coverage on any chapter event to include monthly meetings and fly-ins.
All that is required to insure coverage of a chapter hosted fly-in is to have one of the chapter officers submit a form to EAA Headquarters listing the date, place and type of event to headquarters'. The fly-in will then have insurance coverage on the date of the event.
Note, there are very specific events that are covered under the policy to include spot landing contest for example but not balloon busting. The Class I, II, III insurance is describe by materials from the EAA national office.
VOLUNTEERS
The fly-in can’t be conducted without lots of volunteer help. Chapter 983 members have always generously volunteered to participate in the fly-in activities..
First of all, a volunteer sign-up sheet should be introduced and passed around at the two regular chapter meetings prior to the fly-in (three months out). After passing the list at the first meeting, take that list to the next meeting clearly showing where more help is needed. It is important to nail down the necessary assistance. Folks prefer to participate in an orderly event versus chaos and when a question or a problem arises, leadership must be available both before and during the event. Also, people are more likely to sign up as a volunteer if the commitment is for a few hours rather than the entire day; try to have enough volunteers so that small shifts are possible.
Once
volunteers are signed up, select a "lead" person for each discipline
i.e. parking, cooking etc. Call each
lead person and ask them to coordinate their area of responsibility and also
ask them to call the other volunteers that are working with them and coordinate
work schedules, brain storm ideas etc.
Ask the lead person get back to you on the progress. Consider providing the lunch FREE for all
the volunteers.
ADVERTISING
Without adequate and timely advertising, distribution and notification of the fly-in, the event may not be successful. One of the measurements of the success of the event will be the number of airplanes that fly-in from outside of the chapter. There is no satisfaction like looking out over all colors and flavors of flying machines during the event and hearing and seeing the pattern abuzz.
Magazines and other periodicals usually request four months lead time to post the events in their calendar of events section. That is why early planning and the setting of dates is so important. Send an Email announcing the event to every aviation related periodical. Be sure to include a good point of contact and phone number as lots of calls will be made near the fly-in date.
A good and colorful flyer is another media to be used. It should be available approximately two months prior to the event. Have chapter members pick them up at monthly meetings and put them on their municipal airports bulletin boards. Mail them to neighboring airports and FBO's asking them to post them. With today's faster homebuilts, mailing flyers to airports 100 to 150 miles away isn't too far. Be sure to get the flyer published in the two chapter newsletters prior to the event. Also, be sure to include driving instructions to the event on the flyer.
An Email to the area chapter presidents several months prior to the event and also just before the event is very effective.
Talk up the event. Ask friends and chapter members to invite their friends, especially friends with airplanes. Remind them that everyone is welcome whether EAA members or not.
HINT: The day of the event, the phone number listed in the magazines and flyers as the point of contact should have an answering machine hooked to it announcing that the fly-in is "on" and to come on out.
WEATHER
Weather will no doubt have one of the biggest impacts on the fly-in and as such contingency plans need be made. Due to all the planning and successful marketing to notify the flying public, it is all but impossible to call off a fly-in due to weather at the last moment. Plan on some folks showing up regardless of the weather. They will fly-in and drive-in.
Typically let folks know to come on out even if the weather isn't perfect because there will be a wealth of groceries to at least try and make a dent in. At the very least, it can be a worthwhile social event amongst the best of friends. A hangar close by the planned event location will provide shelter in case of bad weather.
Again, this is a good use for the answering machine the day of, because folks will be calling to see if "we are still having the fly-in."
FOOD
The main entrée is up to the chairperson. Hamburgers are usually a safe bet because you can always get more if you need more, and can readily store those not used. Brats work well also. Brisket with beans and potato salad is a simple meal. Simple is good.
Have a reliable way to keep hot food hot and cold food cold. Pick a serving time and have things ready to go on time; 11:00 AM usually works good for the serving time. Have designated cooks who know what they are going to do. Too many drinks are OK since they can be used at following chapter meetings. Extra water is always good to have available.
Generally, the person in charge of cooking is also responsible for planning, ordering, picking-up and delivering the food. Weather will make a large difference in the turnout, so a backup plan for additional food will be necessary if a conservative purchase is made.
SET-UP
Set-up of the site to include tables, chairs etc. is usually begun around 8a.m. Anticipate that the event will begin around 10 a.m. and the first airplanes begin arriving about 9a.m.. Prior to the event day, the set-up crew has located all the chairs, tables etc. for the event and will now be gathering them all together. Usually, the day before, the site needs to be mowed and the tables and chairs should be cleaned. Look for pot holes that need to be filled and any hazards. Try to locate tents for the volunteers and the central area.
GREETERS/REGISTRATION
Consider a special table at the fly-in for registrtion. At the table, issue name tags and sign-up pilots for special events such as a spot landing contest. In lieu of the registration table, a couple of nice folks on a golf cart can meet the airplanes, cordially greet the guests and give them name tags. A guest list provides a way to send personal invitations for the future fly-ins.
RADIO/TRAFFIC CONSIDERATIONS
Only airport advisories can be provided at an uncontrolled field. A good handheld radio operator monitoring the local frequency can provide a great deal of assistance and go a long way towards a safe and organized event. Add this to the volunteer list.
If possible, add the local radio chatter to a PA system so that everyone can hear it. Play music over the PA that everyone will enjoy. Music from the 1930’s is used at many aviation events. Distribute the speakers so that the radio and music can be heard over the entire area.
Special events such as a Spot Landing contest or Airplanes Rides warrant a special crew to coordinate and conduct the event. Add this to the list of volunteers.
For aircraft rides, a 3 to 4 person crew is needed. Try to establish a set time period for both the pilots and the riders. If the period is long, have enough people to use shifts. Ropes or other marking should be used to control the aircraft and people traffic for safer conditions.
A local parachute jumping organization is an interesting event and will give that organization good exposure for their business/organization. A one-time jump can be performed during the lunch period, but continuous jumps may cause a hazard.
Safety:
Marshalling crew
should consist of four (4) people at a
time. More creates confusion. The crew should meet prior to the fly-in to
be briefed as to what procedures will be followed and where aircraft will be
parked. A diagram should be used for
the briefing. Wearing orange safety
vests should identify crew. This not
only is a safety factor but also identifies the parking crew for easy
identification. Parking crew should not
become involved in air traffic control.
Their scope of operations is limited to parking and limited ground
operations. Radio COMM should be used
to help direct aircraft; but hand signals as primary to avoid frequency
congestion. Pedestrian traffic should
be restricted from the runway entrance and exit areas. Pedestrians should only be allowed in the
parking area. Golf carts and other
motorized vehicles should be restricted to only the parking crew and identified
accordingly. Other vehicles should be
parked outside of the static display areas (this will be difficult to
control). Upon departure, a member of
the parking crew should be in attendance at each aircraft as it starts its
engine. The spectators should be
cleared and the “all clear”given to the pilot before cranking the engine. The taxi area should then be cleared for the
departure. Pilot should be notified of
this procedure upon arrival with a verbal request and also posting signs in the
parking area. This procedure could also
be announced over the PA during the fly-in.
Again, no engine should be started without a person outside the aircraft
insuring that the area is clear. No
pets can be allowed in any area near aircraft operations unless they are
leashed. A “no fly” window should be
established to allow for parachute operations.
This window should be long enough (ask the jumpers for a recommended
period) to allow for recovery of all airborne aircraft before the show
begins. Unsupervised children should
not be allowed in the area of any aircraft operation or parking area.
Operations:
A transit area
should be the primary parking area.
Parking along the runway should only be in an “overflow” condition. Control this early in the day. Staggering “high wing” with “low wing”
aircraft provides better space utilization in the parking area. Parking crew should be relieved periodically
for water and rest breaks. Have enough volunteers to shift the
periods. Aircraft that will fly
during the fly in should be parked near the departure point to prevent constant
prop wash issues around other parked aircraft.
Like aircraft, when possible, can be parked in the same area.
Early arrivals may
be parked so that later arrivals will not have to pass through congested taxi
lanes. Plans to have a South access may
change this.
To Consider:
Should we have a
“parking control” frequency to allow direct communication with aircraft on the
ground? CTAF has been used, but a sign
at the parking area for 122.75 might be a way to handle this. Place informative signs to assist in
directing aircraft to the proper parking area.
Clearly define the
area where “riders” are boarded. Use
ropes or tape for the boundaries.
Announce at the EAA
meeting prior to the fly in the various rules that we expect to be
followed. Also put it in the
newsletter. Rules like no golf carts,
etc. Post signs for pilots explaining
the schedule of events and safety considerations. This could also be in the form of a welcome flyer welcoming them
to EAA Chapter. A questionnaire, if
needed could also be on the reverse side asking for suggestions, names,
addresses, etc.
Dear Kitplanes
Magazine,
Please include the
following information on our EAA Chapter (983) Annual FALL Fly-In in your
"Calendars" section.
November 10, 2001, EAA CHAPTER 983 FALL
FLY-IN AND LUNCH,
Pecan Plantation Airpark (0TX1), GRANBURY,
TX, INFO 817-xxx-xxxx. www.eaa983.org
Thanks,
Name
Address
Phone
SUGGESTED PERIODICAL MAILING LIST
Custom Planes
Magazine
265 S. Anita Dr.,
Suite 120
Orange, CA 92868-3310
EAA/Sport Aviation
Magazine
Editorial@eaa.org
Attn: Calendar Section
P.O. Box 3086
Oshkosh, WI
54903-3086
Kitplanes Magazine
Calendar
Cindy@kitplanes.com
8745 Aero Dr. Suite
105
San Diego, CA 92123
Flyer
Calendar of Events
P.O. Box 39099
Lakewood, WA
98439-0099
AOPA PILOT Magazine
Calendar Editor
421 Aviation Way
Frederick, MD 21701