Cloudy conditions cover Lions Club fly-in breakfast
Pilot Tom Mosby talks to a marshaller while exiting his plane to cash in on his free breakfast. Mosby said low clouds left him unable to see during his flight, relying on the instruments in his plane for direction and altitude.
Ken Windschitl (left) jokes with Jeremiah Richter (right) as they prepare pancakes for the fly-in breakfast.
Pilot Tom Mosby talks to a marshaller while exiting his plane to cash in on his free breakfast. Mosby said low clouds left him unable to see during his flight, relying on the instruments in his plane for direction and altitude.
Ken Windschitl (left) jokes with Jeremiah Richter (right) as they prepare pancakes for the fly-in breakfast.
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NEW ULM -- Low-hanging clouds reduced pilot turnout, but hungry attendees still came out in droves Sunday to the 49th annual Lions Club fly-in pancake breakfast at New Ulm Municipal Airport.
The event, which ran from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., featured 14 pilots bring their aircraft to receive a free pancake breakfast. Of these fourteen, one was a helicopter and the rest were airplanes. The planes came in a variety of colors and styles. Among them included one used in WWII reconnaissance, a build-it-yourself kit plane, and planes that are aerobatic. Aerobatic planes are those often seen in air shows, as they are able to pull off the fancy flying maneuvers people go to see.
New Ulm Lions Club President Bob Schirlinger said the event started in the '60s as a fundraiser opportunity. Since then, the event has been able to help the Lions Club donate to people and organizations in need. Schirlinger said a lot has changed since the event began.
"They used to have it in a smaller hangar and [the event] was a lot smaller," he said. "Now on a good day here we hope to serve 1,600 people, it’s gotten bigger. There’s fewer [civilian pilots] so it’s harder to get them in. We have to work harder at that. [Now] we usually have about 75 [pilots]. We used to have over 100."
This year saw a diminished turnout due to the weather conditions. Low-hanging clouds made it difficult or impossible for pilots to see. Some pilots had to delay their arrival by several hours because, even with the modern technology aboard planes, the visibility was below legal flying limits. Pilot Tom Mosby, who brought his aerobatic 2013 Van's RV-7A plane to the breakfast, shared his experience.
"From the time I took off from Airlake [airport] I was in the clouds, couldn’t see a thing," he said. "It was all instrument navigation, which is kind of fun."
For those unfamiliar with aviation, flying without being able to see sounds like the opposite of fun. But Mosby said modern technology has made it a possibility to fly blind and still know where you're going.
"[My plane is] well equipped with the latest Garmin instrumentation. Nowadays [instrument navigation is] very accurate and very reliable," he said. "There’s backups, even on a small plane like this there's two GPS systems. In a dire emergency, guys have actually used iPads with an aviation application. You’re talking to air traffic control and it’s all pretty civilized."
A limited pilot turnout did not translate into a limited people turnout. Lines stretched onto the runway with people waiting to get a pancake breakfast. The large turnout ensures the Lions Club of New Ulm can continue to support people and organizations who need it.
"One of the big things we do we fund research for diabetes, eyesight, and hearing at the University of Minnesota," Schirlinger said. "We support local people that need glasses and anybody in need. Our post office box is 23 in New Ulm Minnesota. If you send us a request, we at our monthly board meetings will look at your request and make decisions on how much we can fund."