FLY IN FOR SOME FLAP JACKS
By Jennifer A. Howell

June 2, 2007 Inside the hangar at the airport, families with young children, men in uniform, and the official airport dog, a Black Labrador named Angel, enjoy hot pancakes and sausage while listening to a live band performing jazz music. Some return to the breakfast line for seconds while others get up to dance to the sounds from another era. Just outside is an assortment of aircraft parked and on display for a close-up view. Vintage and modern airplanes take off from the runway and circle overhead. The 11th Annual Fly-In and Pancake Breakfast at Mid-Way Regional Airport is underway.

The event takes place on the first Saturday in June every year, coinciding with the Gingerbread Trail Tour of Homes. There are many things to see and hear at the Fly-In, including aircraft of all models and sizes, remote control aircraft demonstrations and a display of vintage automobiles.

Venus resident Bill Thomas brought his two sons with him to the event for the first time this year. “I heard about it through the car club. We came to see both the cars and the planes,” explained Thomas.

“I think it’s great,” said Ovilla resident Sally Wheeler of the Fly-In. “They have not seen this many people in a long time.”

Sally and her husband, Dave Wheeler, have been residents of Midlothian for the past 10 years and are in the process of moving to Ovilla. Dave works at the airport with partners Vern Mitchell and Ken Lance. “They’re fix base operators. It’s called ‘FBO,’” said Sally of her husband and his two partners. “They’re responsible for all the concessions at the airport. They provide fuel for all the airplanes and do everything from renting cars for people who land here to keeping Cokes and candies in stock. They also do maintenance on airplanes,” explained Sally.

“The airport is really growing and they’re building new hangars,” added Sally. “All these big companies ---Walgreens, Toys R Us, and others who have built distribution centers in the area --- have private planes. This is a perfect facility for them to use in order to get corporate employees in and out easily, without the commute to and from Dallas.”

Other groups in attendance at the Fly-In included the Civil Air Patrol, Commemorative Air Force (formerly known as the Confederate Air Force) and the Trojan Phlyers.

Col. Tony Hess of the Commemorative Air Force drove from his home to Lancaster Airport, and then flew as a passenger in a vintage airplane from Lancaster Airport to Mid-Way Regional Airport to attend the event. “It was a three to five-minute flight,” said Hess, who has participated in the Fly-In Pancake Breakfast for three years.

This year’s event featured a hangar groundbreaking for the Trojan Phlyers, the airport’s newest resident. The Trojan Phlyers is a group of retired U.S. Air Force and Marine pilots who have recently moved their operations to Mid-Way Regional Airport.

Waxahachie resident Jeff Lincks attended the event with his two sons for the third year. “Of course we like the pancakes and all the different types of planes, from historic to newer modern planes. But the fire department is always a hit,” said Lincks, who had just toured the fire truck up close with his two young boys. “I also enjoyed seeing the remote control airplanes,” added Lincks. “It seems that the event has gotten bigger and bigger each year.”

This year’s Fly-In and Pancake Breakfast drew a record crowd and has become an increasingly popular community event. Mid-Way Regional Airport is located on Hwy. 287 between Midlothian and Waxahachie. For more information about the airport, visit www.mid-wayregional.com.