Over 100 Planes Relocating To Nearby Fields

Aero-News has learned that after 60 years of operation, the historic Evergreen Airport (59S) in Vancouver, WA has held it's final fly-in event... a bittersweet farewell party that saw over 250 guests and over 50 airplanes in attendance. Founded in 1946 -- and home to the Northwest Antique Airplane Club (NWAAC) and the Evergreen Fly-In since 1964 -- 59S will be closing forever in mid-July.

This past Saturday, July 1 saw Evergreen "Friends and Family" get together for the last NWAAC meeting there, followed by a barbecue and pot luck, slide and movie shows of past events, and sharing of stories of days gone by. From this point forward, the meetings will be held at the satellite clubhouse at Scappoose Industrial Airpark (SPB).

Meanwhile, the more than 100 airplanes that called Evergreen home -- some for well over 40 years -- have had to find new places to roost at nearby airports in Washington and Oregon.

The annual Evergreen Fly-In that began in 1964 moved to McMinnville (MMV) in 2004, as the threat of impending closure made long term planning too uncertain. The NWAAC Fly-In is held the third weekend of August.

Since 1946, Evergreen has been a place where a flyer could stop for small town hospitality, kids could earn flight time washing planes, students could learn to fly in taildraggers or contemporary planes.

Until the flight school closed recently, Wally's original training fleet included several 1946 T-Crafts and a Cub -- and folks were welcome to wander around, poke a nose into an open hangar and say hello.

A multi-use business park -- sporting with airport design cues -- will replace one of the last, great, old airports in the Vancouver-Portland area. Somehow, that just don't seem right...

FMI: www.nwaac.com