But Parent isn’t the only Cub enthusiastic with stories to share which is why (newlywed) Bruce Fall and the late Monte Finley started the annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In 28 years ago. This year’s event was held as always at the Lompoc airport the weekend of July 6-8.
Fall, an aerial photographer by trade, has tucked his pilot’s license into his scrapbook of fond memories, but that doesn’t stop him from coming out to enjoy his hometown event – complete with barbecue, flour bombing, a spot-landing competition and formation flying.
Among the awards given at the Saturday evening dinner, “Best Cub” went to Santa Ynez’s own Eric Libby and the “Pilot’s Choice” to Lonny Autry. The “Oldest Cub,” a 1939, was flown in by Skip Scott, while the oldest pilot was Sy Robins, who at age 84 soared in from the San Francisco Bay area.
This year, the award for the youngest participating pilot went to Sammy Mason, age 18, from Santa Paula. It is an award Eric Parent took back in 1994 when he was just 16. A year later, the prize went to Kelly McCarrie – Eric’s now fiancée, who too was 16 when she earned it.
“He was just out of diapers when I started teaching him how to fly,” boasts Parent, who has owned the same Cub for 22 years. “Just kidding – he was about 8. I had to wait until he was tall enough to reach the pedals.”
Parent’s eyes sparkle mischievously as he relays how he and Kelly’s father are friends. Together they concocted the rule that their teens “were only allowed to date when they were flying together.”
Sitting one behind the other, there isn’t room in a Cub to do more than fly – or chat. “It’s a real kick in the pants,” says Eric of the experience of flying the small planes designed more for fun than anything else.
But, says Eric, his dad let him borrow the 1939 J3 any time he wanted, leaving plenty of time to spend with his girl. Eric is now a captain flying for Sky West and based out of Salt Lake City. Kelly also has a private pilot’s license and works as an engineer for an aerospace company. The couple plan to be wed this fall.
“All of their friends are going to fly in,” says Parent. They wanted to tie the knot in a DC-3 flying over the San Francisco Bay, but instead are settling to taking their vows under the wing in the hangar.
“If you bring your kids up to be pilots, they can’t go wrong,” says Parent. In unison, the father/son pair look across the tarmac as Kelly walks their way. They both smile. “She bought her yellow dress and shoes just for the show,” says Parent, wistfully.
Most of the Cubs on hand sport the bright-yellow paint job they are known for, but Parent’s sports something else as well. Under the left wing in big bold lettering, the “RESCUE” emblazoned there is meant to come as a welcome sight to those in need.
Parent is one of two pilots who fly maritime safety patrols for the U.S. Coast Guard, he says. Parent donates both his time and plane, while the Coast Guard provides the fuel. In full uniform, Parent in his Cub can fly low and slow, giving him ample time to locate individuals in harm’s way.
To fly a rescue helicopter instead, the cost runs about $3,500 an hour, says Parent. His Cub costs about $50. “These Cubs can do a lot of good, even though they are antique,” he says.
Parent says the Coast Guard can’t ignore flares when they are spotted, even though it is often just kids playing. But they can call on Parent to check it out. It is something he loves to do. His willingness to step up saves taxpayers a lot of money, he says. But it isn’t all about money.
He was recently credited with saving the lives of a group of four caught on a muddy sand spit for more than 30 hours, Parent explains. Having spotted them, Parent was able send in help. The group had sunk waist-deep into the silt and were battling hypothermia when rescued.
But this weekend was all about having fun. Only about a third of the Cubs participating are equipped with radios, event organizers say. With the skies filled with planes, some taking off, some dropping bombs, some landing, it looked a bit like an aerial game of dodgeball – one the Cub is particularly well-equipped to play.
Of the 52 or so Cubs that flew in for the event, not all participated in the flour bombing. Mike Crawford was the winner for the closest bomb, with his landing an average 11 feet from the barrel they shoot at. With Lompoc’s gusty winds and the barrel not readily visible from 200 feet above, it isn’t an easy target to hit.
“I told you the $250 award for hitting the barrel is not in jeopardy of being paid out anytime soon!” says Greg Janke, the publicity chair for the event.
The winner of the Spot Landing contest was Ron Peters. Janke reports that about 19 planes participated in the formation flight – slightly fewer than the all-time record of 22.
But that is just one more thing to look forward to improving for next year. struax@syvjournal.com