Fly-in breakfast set for Saturday

Elton Hensley Memorial Airport is the best place in town to see unique aircraft. This Saturday is the annual Fly-In and pancake breakfast.
Elton Hensley Memorial Airport is the best place in town to see unique aircraft. This Saturday is the annual Fly-In and pancake breakfast.

Scattered thunderstorms are in the forecast for Saturday, but even if the planes aren't flying, the pancakes will be.

The annual Kingdom Pilots Association Fly-In and pancake breakfast at Elton Hensley Memorial Airport is Saturday, and there will include plenty to see and do.

The event takes place 7-11 a.m. at the airport, 4420 County Road 304, Fulton. Everyone is welcome and breakfast costs whatever the customer deems to be a fair price.

"We wanted to make sure people with larger families could afford to attend," Kingdom Pilots Association Treasurer Dave Hollabaugh said.

The KPA hosts this annual event, and proceeds go toward improvements at the airport - for example, new furniture for the pilot lounge - and funding scholarships for young pilots.

"We awarded three scholarships this year," Hollabaugh said. "Last year, we awarded one, and prior to that, I think it had been four years since the last scholarship, since we didn't have any applications."

This year's recipients are Aaron Scheppers, a student at Helias Catholic High School, Sam Ridgeway at New Franklin High School and Zach Frazee of Fulton High School. The scholarships will be presented at about 9 a.m.

Scholarship applications are open to students 16 and older from Callaway, Audrain, Boone, Cole, Osage and Montgomery counties. Each scholarship of up to $1,500 should fund 15 hours of ground and flight instruction, enabling the student to reach a solo license.

Applications can be found at facebook.com/KingdomPilotsAssociation or at the pancake breakfast. Hollabaugh said a younger KPA member is now maintaining the group's Facebook page, which is now more active and makes it easier to find the application.

Interesting aircraft and vehicles will gather at the airport during the event for families to explore and enjoy, including a model Air Coupe.

"It's always weather dependent," Hollabaugh said. "We expect Staff for Life to be there. We may have one or two other helicopters. As far as fixed-wing airplanes, we don't know specifically. The Fulton Fire Department is always good. They bring a fire truck out there, and the kids like that."

Then there's this year's brand-new event: a flour drop competition.

"We'll have a 100-foot circle mowed in the grass with a bulls-eye," Hollabaugh explained. "Pilots will fly a pattern at a minimum of 200 feet. They'll have a bombardier that'll drop the flour sack out. One of the rules is you can't both fly the airplane and drop the flour, for safety reasons."

Each pilot will pay a $25 fee to compete, which buys them three passes above the target to drop three 2-pound bags of flour.

For more information, visit facebook.com/KingdomPilotsAssociation.