The Lee Bottom Fly-In 2016 Aviation Migration Challenge Has Been Announced

The Lee Bottom Flying Field is home to southern Indiana's favorite antique and classic fly-in, and it’s claimed to be "Where Everyone Goes At The End Of Summer." Their annual event includes a challenge, and this year the voting will be for the preference of type certificated aircraft or experimental aircraft. It takes place September 16 through 18 near Hanover, IN.

Last year, the battle was between Aeronca lovers and those who love all forms of Cubs. The Cubs won, and one of our editors, who owned an Aeronca Champ for 15 years, said that event proved that elections can be rigged. However, the same editor who is now flying his home-built airplane is looking for revenge.

The event is open to everyone. It’s intended to be a relaxed event for pilots, and it’s claimed the gathering fills a void that your typical county airport fly-in could not. Beautiful scenery, great planes and wonderful people mixed together to create something special. With aircraft like the Beech Staggerwing, Great Lakes, Stearman, Swallow, and Tiger Moths, the lineup is sure to please every enthusiast.
 
The challenge categories this year are ‘CERTIFIED’ and ‘EXPERIMENTAL,’ known as ‘Team NC’ and ‘Team NX.’ Whichever group tallies to the largest total on hand for the weekend wins this round of the overall challenge. The counting begins at 4PM on Friday September 16th, 2016 and ends at 10AM on September 18th, 2016.

The NC vs NX Challenge will include three individual challenges which are:

• The category with the most aircraft on hand – Team NC or Team NX
• The People’s Choice Payoff
• T-shirt sales

The People’s Choice challenge is very simple. Sitting near the aircraft tally board will be two jars. One will be labeled CERTIFIED and the other will be labeled EXPERIMENTAL. Drop money into the one that represents your favorite category. The category with the largest total dollar amount wins this round of the overall challenge. All proceeds go to the 501-c non-profit, The Lee Bottom Aviation Refuge.

The third round of the challenge is T-shirt sales. The T-shirt competition began on August 1st, and continues through August 22nd. Support your favorite team, even if you can’t make the fly-in, by purchasing a ‘Team NC’ or ‘Team NX’ T-shirt. For the next three weeks we will post regular updates on sales. When the deadline arrives, the team with the most T-shirt sales wins this round of the challenge.

As an extra bonus, the T-shirt part of the challenge comes with a perk. Wear one of the NC vs NX shirts to the fly-in and get in free. However, you must be wearing a NC vs NX shirt to get in free. Carrying it doesn't count.

And now comes the sad part of the story … This will be the last year for this event. This is the year recreational aviation needs to show up in force.

FMI: www.leebottom.com/index.html