Just "Plane" Fun: Fly-In at the Perryville Regional Airport

Pilot Steven Wood of St. Louis has a passion for airplanes. In pursuit of this passion, he constructed the Wag-A-Bond aircraft, which he flew to the Perryville Regional Airport’s Fly-In event held at the airport’s landing strip May 15. The “experimental” plane, which was built over a period of some 10 years using blueprints he purchased from Wag-Aero, is modeled after the Piper Vagabond aircraft.

Wood sourced all materials for the Wag-A-Bond himself, starting the project from his basement and completing the project with an inspection and certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration in 2019. Finishing the project — and flying the aircraft to fly-in events such as the one in Perryville — is a culmination of his years of interest in aviation, he says.

“It was a labor of love,” Wood says. “It was one of those things — I didn’t think I would ever get it done, but when I got to the finish line, it was like, ‘Oh wow, I did this.’”

Wood was just one of approximately 400 pilots and plane enthusiasts who attended the event, which the airport hosted a just “plane” fun kickoff to summer.

Organizer and Airport Advisory Board member Greg Gremminger says a total of approximately 30 airplanes arrived at the airport’s landing strip, located nine miles from the city of Perryville, Mo. Cloudy skies and potential rainfall didn’t stop a crowd from gathering to watch the airplanes arrive.

Pilot Dennis Long flew from Searcy, Ark., in a bright orange plane. Long says he began flying ultralight aircrafts in 1984 and received his pilot’s licence in 2011.

“I always loved watching birds fly overhead, so I decided I wanted to fly,” he says. “I was out of flying for a lot of years, but got back into it in 2011.”

The 435-acre property offers several amenities to arriving pilots, Gremminger says. While Perryville Airport does not currently offer scheduled commercial flights, pilots can land at the airport to refuel or take a break in the airport’s lounge.

A courtesy car offers the opportunity for visitors to travel 15 minutes to the city of Perryville to enjoy a meal or stay the night. He says this not only offers a service to arriving pilots and passengers, but it supports local commerce, as well.

Airport manager Barbara Maxwell says she “lucked out” in her role of leading airport operations and enjoys helping to fuel aircrafts and lead operations. She says the event provides a fun opportunity for the local community to learn about the airport, as well as potentially piquing an interest in aviation.

“A big thing is to know that Perryville has a very busy regional airport,” Maxwell says. “We wanted to get the public involved so they could see it and to maybe put that spark of desire, like, ‘Hey, maybe I’d like to do that, too.’”

Gremminger says the fly-in was designed not only as a fun day for pilots, but as an opportunity for members of the community to learn more about the details of aviation. He hopes to inspire the younger generation to consider careers and educational paths in piloting.

In addition to viewing arriving airplanes at the event, visitors could enjoy a free ride in an airplane, enter raffles for airplane fuel, eat hamburgers grilled at the event and view parachuters arriving at the airfield.

Breezy Hills RC Club president Ron Shemonic traveled from Chester, Ill., to attend the Saturday event. He says his favorite aircraft featured at the fly-in is the gyrocopter, a small aircraft propelled by a rotating blade at the top of the plane.

“It’s intimidating how they’d fly, with no wings on them,” Shemonic says.

Fellow RC club member Kim Stricker says while there’s definite differences between model airplanes and the real thing, they share many details in common.

“They’re very similar — they all fly on the same principles and the same rules,” he says. “It’s a very close parallel that radio control planes have with full-scale planes.”

A love of aviation unites the club, Stricker says, as the members attended the fly-in event together. Many of the aviation enthusiasts are childhood friends.

“I don’t really remember when it started,” he says. “I have a picture of myself at three years old, and I’m holding an airplane above my head.”

The fly-in drew enthusiasts, as well; Greg Ochs flew as a passenger alongside his brother Bob Ochs. After a lifetime of learning about aviation from their father, also a pilot, Greg Ochs says he hopes to receive his pilot’s license soon.

The event was a long time in the making, Gremminger says; it was originally planned for Spring 2020, but was rescheduled several times due to COVID-19. Still, he says the wait was worth it.

“People just want to get out and live again with their airplanes,” Gremminger says.