In his 50 years flying out of the Sechelt aerodrome, Greg Caple has never seen so many planes at the local airport as he did last weekend.
Fifty-four small aircraft landed at the airport for the Elphinstone Flying Club's fly-in event June 3. A few years ago, the club hosted a similar event and attracted about 10 planes. But this year, the planes flocked in, coming from Victoria, Squamish, Langley, Chilliwack, Powell River, Texada Island, Comox, Pitt Meadows, Courtney and even as far away as Canmore, Alta.
Caple, who manages the Sechelt aerodrome, said that marshalling all of the aircraft was quite a feat – planes were lined up all the way along the taxiway. There were 108 aircraft movements in a five-hour period. Caple said that the aerodrome is often branded a liability but events like these show that it's a tremendous asset (noting as well that the previous weekend the airport was brimming with people for drag racing). He also commented that it was a great event for the community to come together, "a gathering of people who wanted to socialize after a drought of interpersonal connections."
"It was fantastic," said Luke Gordon, chair of the Elphinstone Flying Club and one of the eight members who helped with organizing the event. He credits the turnout to COVID (and the dearth of such social events), the new runway and getting the word out to other flying organizations. "And they all turned up for a beautiful day."
The Elphinstone Flying Club, which today has 30 flying and nonflying members, was established in 1951 and built the airport and runway, later donating it to the local government, said Gordon.
Saturday, there was a BBQ and open house and the gate was open for the community to join in. Gordon estimated that more than 80 members of the public attended. There were also door prizes as "the local business community were fantastic in donating to us, up and down the Coast," said Gordon.
"This is our way of paying back the community," said Gordon.
