Washington State Fly-In Reports 14% Boost In Attendance

Tracking the trend seen across the country, the Arlington Fly-In in Washington State last weekend reports an increase both in attendance and number of airplanes participating, according to the EAA.

“What can I say, it was great - a phenomenal turnout this year,” said Barb Tolbert, executive director for the fly-in. “We are still verifying the number of aircraft – at times the registrations even overloaded our system - but it looks to be well ahead of last year.”

Arlington ... the third-largest fly-in in the country ... saw a 14 percent boost in attendance over last year, according to the organizers.

New border crossing regulations may have reduced the number of airplanes coming down from Canada, according to the EAA. While the number of Canadians attending the show was strong, more appeared to have chosen to drive rather than fly down for the event. “Customs officials were very helpful and cooperative, but it certainly appears that the new border crossing regulations in the United States and the eAPIS system had a detrimental effect on aircraft arrivals from north of the border,” she said. “The people I spoke with who did fly down said that it was not as difficult as some were making it out to be, but pilots seemed to deal with the large changes in the procedures by not dealing with them.”

EAA Manager of Field Operations Ron Wagner said his forums on Light Sport Aircraft and Affordable Flying were "remarkably well attended" despite rainy weather on Sunday.

Of course, the granddaddy of them all, EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh is just around the corner, and the ANN Staff hopes to see you there.

FMI: www.nweaa.org