And The Best Looks Yet To Come, Just In Time For The Weekend

by ANN Associate Editor Rob Finfrock

"Uh oh," Jim said as drove to Arlington Thursday morning -- and it wasn't hard to see what he meant. While visibility looked good straight ahead... there were low, gray clouds in the distance all around, and a light rain was falling.

"Hello, Washington weather," I replied.

Yes, clouds and rain are a way of life in the Pacific Northwest... but those who are familiar with the area are a sturdy bunch, and they're not likely to let a little drizzle get in their way. Sure enough, as we pulled into the parking lot at Arlington Municipal... we had to maneuver around a LOT more people and cars than we did Wednesday.

There were a LOT more planes, too... both in the air, and on the ground. The 2,000 ft ceiling accommodated a steady stream of Cessnas, RVs, and other assorted aircraft. The clouds lifted throughout the day... and the parking areas filled up accordingly.

Now THIS was startin' to look like a fly-in!

While the clouds were lifting over AWO, though, other areas were still socked in. At around noon, the announcer came over the speakers to say that he'd heard from a number of pilots due in from the south, that were hampered by storms around Portland; another flyer in Arizona was similarly hampered by summertime showers.

During his forum on the latest developments in sport pilot, the EAA's Ron Wagner stated they were expecting at least 15 light sport planes to fill the LSA Mall at the south end of the field... "but right now there are only about five out there", due to the weather.

Good news, though -- the weatherman says that some sunshine should start peaking through early Friday... just in time for the weekend! We bet a lot of those planes will be taking advantage of the clearer skies... and with the planes, will come the crowds.

Stay tuned. Arlington 2006 is just gettin' started!

FMI: www.nweaa.org