Yesterday was a good day...no, it was a great day. When I arrived at 0630 the hangar was already buzzing with members. The kitchen had those wonderful smells of pancakes, sausage and eggs cooking away on the stove. The Young Eagle crew was setting up the outdoor shade and tables. The office had the computer plugged and beside the printer so each young eagle would receive their certificate of flight.
Things were finally getting back to normal. Soon Vince was giving the pilots and ground crew briefing along with what to expect in routing as the airport has some big restrictions due to taxiway "A" construction.
Steve, one of the tower controllers also gave a brief on what they were expecting in the way of traffic and surprisingly there were very few corporate jets sitting on the airport. The temps were still on the cool side and the winds were calm which was a blessing since kids new to small aircraft flight and some new to flight, period.
As the morning progressed the crowds got quite large but extremely orderly thanks to Lynn keeping the smooth flow of children out to their waiting assigned pilots and planes. Parents gathered around to take photos of their kids all buckled up and headsets on ready for engine start and taxing out for take off.
Over the course of the morning old members showed up who I hadn't expected to see who were also looking for some sense of "normal" once again and lo and behold here it was!
When the last of the kids were flown our members quietly brought the hangar back to normal, locked up and off we all went our separate ways. No face masks were worn or not for very long. Hugs and handshakes were back and everyone had a good time.
Many thanks to all who volunteered their time to make it happen once again and I know we all look forward to the next one.
Stay safe out their friends,
Tim El Presidente