LIVERMORE FALLS — Candy rained from the sky at the 31st annual Bowman Field Fly-In in Livermore Falls on Saturday, and anyone with a sweet tooth, a passion for planes or an appetite for games could find something fun to do.
Vice President of Bowman Field Club Larry Grenier said the free event is a fundraiser for the club, and between the food sales and the yard sale in the hangar, it generates enough income to last the club another year — until the next fly-in.
“It’s like a hot rod run with aircraft,” said Grenier, who is looking to recruit new, younger members to the club to keep a love of aviation alive.
Brenda and Ken Morgan of Morgan Aviation in Norridgewock attended the event, accommodating those who desired a bird’s-eye view of the festivities and the surrounding towns in their Cessna 172.
Ken, a flight instructor, also trains members of the club who wish to obtain their pilot’s license.
Henry and Mary Alice Cook of Wayne have been going for rides with Ken for about five years. He knows where their house is, and they always fly over it.
“It’s fun to see the river,” Mary Alice Cook said.” (Henry) likes to check for beaver dams.”
Planes were lined up along the runway, and curious children were welcome to look and touch. Samuel and Abraham Geissinger, 8 and 11 respectively, were attending their third fly-in. They both love planes, they said, and want to be pilots.
The highlight for anyone with a sweet tooth was the candy drop — a thrilling downpour of sweets thrown from a low-flying Piper PA-12 piloted by Bob Sands.
Families stood on the edge of runway, waiting for the telltale flutter that would crescendo into a roaring engine.
When the plane crested the treetops, a wave of arms rose into the air and cheers erupted as kids and adults alike screamed for the candy to fall.
Their pleas were answered, and once the plane passed, everyone scrambled onto the runway with a bag, quick hands and a smile.
emarquis@sunmediagroup.net
Samuel Geissinger, 8, gets a lift from his dad, Ben, to check out a plane at the 31st annual Fly-In at Bowman Field in Livermore Falls on Saturday.
A crowd of children and adults wait for the candy drop at the 31st annual Fly-In at Bowman Field in Livermore Falls on Saturday.
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