6Y9 2021 Fly In is getting close!

Jim, wonderful to meet you this year, hope to see you again next year and many more.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk
 
We’re on our way home, having decided to RON in Wauwatosa because we had such a good time porch sitting today and left late.

And special thanks to Diz for putting on a wonderful event and Brad for keeping the airport open!
I didn’t take many pictures, but watch sidnaw.org for the authorized shots.
Here are pics of people enjoying breakfast this morning and the folks out at the airport on Saturday
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u got electricity in that school? we could totally set up a band and rock that place!! and by band I mean @OkieFlyer jamming on an acoustic guitar.
 
u got electricity in that school? we could totally set up a band and rock that place!! and by band I mean @OkieFlyer jamming on an acoustic guitar.

Last night we had a piano, a ukelele, an acoustic and electric guitar making noise to go along with the singing
 
We're back home. I'l let Diz make the recap post after she has a chance to just chill for a while. I'd call it a successful flyin, despite the weather Saturday. It was fabulous being able to see everyone after 2 (or 12) years.
 
Another wonderful weekend with good friends, old and new.
And Saturday breakfast was ah-may-zing!

Many thanks to the Freds for ALL they do.
And to Leslie for making this year even more specialer. (And ritzy, too!)
 
Man, the school looks downright cozy! Where's the fun in taking a shower and peeking out of the curtain before getting out to make sure nobody is walking by the window before stepping out? And breakfast indoors!? How can everyone bark at EdFred to not spill the eggs in the campfire now? And now you've got music, too!? (not that the karaoke at the Trail's End wasn't fun, but....) It looks like y'all have really schnazzed up the place. It looks great!

Really bummed that we had to miss. If anything ever happens that cancels our standing annual LDW family plans, we're heading back north for sure!
 
We made it home last night, with the Land Rover on a trailer (more on that on another thread). The last time I was at 6Y9 was 2008, which was a long time ago in many ways - I didn't own an airplane (or even have a multi rating) and flew out in the rented Archer. 13 years later, I (once again) don't own an airplane, started and shut down Cloud Nine, plus married and three kids - and we all had a great time. Since the last time I was there the school has been the biggest change, which was essentially completely closed other than the shower 13 years ago, and has now come a long way.

6Y9 is a truly special place. The Fredericks do an amazing job of hosting the Labor Day fly-in, but the beauty of the small grass strip, the wonderful location of the school next to it, and all the effort they put into maintaining and improving the place (while maintaining the charm) makes it a must-visit location for all pilots. The history of the airport and the area is fascinating to me, along with hearing Brad tell the story about how they were able to save the airport.

And, we signed the wall, as is required of all who visit:

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I'm sorry I missed. I'm now teaching a night class, and may be doing so for the remainder of my career. Kills 6Y9 for me. A very special place indeed and Brad and Diz are the souls of hospitality.
 
I'm sorry I missed. I'm now teaching a night class, and may be doing so for the remainder of my career. Kills 6Y9 for me. A very special place indeed and Brad and Diz are the souls of hospitality.

Upon walking in the school, I saw some origami cranes and immediately said “Oh, Michael was here.”

By the way, my daughters were quite taken by the cranes.
 
Many “wows” and so many “thank yous” and I hope I don’t miss anything because as you all know, the fly in to me is a blur when in its full swing.

First- thank you to all who made it up this year! Another great fly in although some parts of it could have been better. We did miss those who were unable to make it, and rest assured, we talked aboutcha.

To the Friday arrivals…and the very late Friday arrival: You made the fly in a fly in! Were it not for all of you making it in before the wx turned, Saturday would have been quite dismal. But I guess we did have one plane leave and one extra plane fly in late Saturday, so mission accomplished? SMH.

Wow…I think that half of Kansas’ real estate showed up along with a very good portion of Ohio's. I’m glad the old basketball court was put to good use, and for Tim: we’ll try and make the elec hook up more in line with the RV parks. German Guy and Skywalker had a nice representation of Michigan real estate-- by comparison. :)

To my frozen team,Tim, Jnet, and Leslie, a very heartfelt thank you. There were moments…put stuff out, pull it back in, put it out, pull it in, move tables closer, move merchandise again and and again from the tent runoff, trip over each other, rearrange 10 times and… can you get a windburn when it’s misting? Our local chef wandered some. so thanks to Ed and Grant for filling in. Through it all everyone kept smiling. Through blue lips, I might add.

And the attempt at the group picture??!! Tens of thousands of pictures I have taken with that camera! Wow. I’ll blame that on my brain injury, hypothermia, and sleep deprivation, etc. Yeah, let’s go with all of that. Thanks to Oliver and his drone who managed some awesome shots for those who were paying attention. I think Ed will be able to include them in the fly in pics on the website. Yes, the pics are done, I just need to get them to Ed.

Thank you for your understanding of the supply chain issues that affected somewhat the menu at Hoppy’s. A lot of changes have happened over the last year or so –and wow- who knew that the RED ALERT jar would be so popular? I see some erred on the side of caution and prepaid! LOL! Thank you!!!

The Saturday night wind down is one of my faves. The pressure of the event is somewhat behind and there is enough room for everyone to kick back and reminisce, make new friends and plans, and do some jammin’. The group of regulars is quite diverse and is not limited to just PoA … but at the end of the day, we are all “6Y9 family.” And that makes us very thankful for the long time friendships that we have gained.

A big welcome to Jim! (You absolutely needed one of those stickers!!!) Hope you had a good time and you will return again. And Ted has been gone so long that we could qualify him as a newbie again, but not. He was there at [almost] the beginning of this whole venture and here we are at 16 fly ins later. We will count Laurie and the kids however. It was nice to finally meet the rest of the family. I fully intended to return to our conversation Ted, but glad we got in what we did. And you did forget to add the ribbon of highway to the wall board, but I can’t say too much because I was going to FTFY and I forgot too!

I think we all will agree that the biggest WOW and THANK YOU goes to Leslie and Grant. Who knew that the post-apocalyptic ruins could have made The Westin blush??? What a spread!!! The overwhelming response was that the more relaxed atmosphere of having Sunday breakfast (Liz –did I miss one on Saturday too? Lol) at the “flight school” has made the decision, at least when possible, to continue this new tradition. Leslie and Grant’s efforts (thanks too, to Ann for helping!) and successes went way beyond. An added bonus to staying at the school camp was that we had 3 pilots fly in, and one drive in, while we were at breakfast. We would have missed them had we been at the steakhouse. And how about that Hellcat?

Brad at the serving bar flipping pancakes next to chafing dishes filled with bacon, sausage, and eggs, along with a full oatmeal bar, a sweets station, and the best cinnamon rolls ever in Sidnaw, all presented on drapes of linens and tables adorned with matching tablecloths and flower arrangements was “ah-may-zing!” AH-MAY-ZING!!! And let’s not forget the tiny blackboards!!! Blackboards...in… a...school! What thought and planning went in to making brunch so truly special. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!! You have set the bar high.

Thanks again to all who came. We know the effort it takes to get to 6Y9. It’s not “on the way” to “anywhere” and for some it takes multiple days. Throw in a couple of issues and it can sour the whole trip. We appreciate all that is put in to making the trek be it by car, RV, cycle or plane. No one has attempted to walk yet although Liz holds the title for running around the area the most. And for the generosity in stashed donations that kept appearing throughout the weekend-- thank you. THANK YOU! That all goes to help keep the airport open.

There is much more that I could share, and maybe I will later, but what happens in Sidnaw stays in Sidnaw. A phrase that's overused but it’s my post and I want to use it.

And lastly, to the one who referred to me as “slacker”— I say this : You had no excuse (your words) to not come. You could have seen it all firsthand. :D
 
Diz, have you gone hoarse again after that?

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. for EVERYTHING.
I can't wait to do it again. :cheerswine:
 
Diz, have you gone hoarse again after that?

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. for EVERYTHING.
I can't wait to do it again. :cheerswine:

Ha ha ha. I figure that I don't post much so I may as well make it a long one ;)

And you are very welcome!
 
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