EAA 105 Blueberry Pancake Fly-in

Stark’s Twin Oaks Airpark (7S3), Hillsboro, OR

Blueberry Pancakes — Here we come!

It’s always a welcome treat to be invited to go flying. Rob Stephens generously extended such an invitation to me, to fly with him in his magnificent JMB VL3.

The weather on Saturday, April 4 was picture perfect! From the moment we departed Port Angeles to the moment we returned, the air was perfectly smooth — and I do mean perfectly smooth. Not so much as a ripple. Rob’s machine is lightning fast, so we were able to launch by about 0730, streak our way to Hillsboro, Oregon and find ourselves in the pancake queue — coffee in hand — by 0845.

What an operation! EAA 105 does this every month, on the first Saturday. Best pancakes ever! And to go with them, there were scrambled eggs, thick bacon, sausages and grits — along with coffee and orange juice to wash it all down. Fabulous.

Hundreds of aviation enthusiasts find their way to this breakfast every month. At $10 per, it’s definitely a revenue generator for the chapter.

Rob and I spoke later with chapter Vice President Mike Whelan and others, to hear and learn a bit about what makes EAA Chapter 105 tick. In addition to the monthly breakfast, they have an almost continuous “Build and Fly” program effort for kids — pretty much every Saturday. They do a variety of activities, including — but not limited to — building and flying model aircraft. They do several Young Eagles events each year, but cap the number of registrations at about 10 or 12 kids.

The chapter leases 2 side-by-side hangars. Chapter gatherings are normally on a Thursday evening. EAA 105 has a distinguished Board of Directors, including Dick VanGrunsven and several other aviation luminaries. All of their programs take lots of volunteers — 30 or so, just for the breakfast every month. They’re doing a lot of cool things and have significant community visibility and support.

Twin Oaks Airpark itself, is a sparkling jewel nestled in the midst of Oregon’s beautiful Willamette Valley. Fly or drive — go there. No excuses.

Richard Howell EAA Chapter 430 — Newsletter Editor