Polson airport hosts Fly-In
Berl Tiskus
Visitors at the Polson Fly-In look around inside the Alert plane, which specializes in medical flights.
Berl Tiskus
Polson Fly-In
Berl Tiskus
Polson Fly-In
Berl Tiskus
Seen up close, the propeller on this plane is massive. It was one of approximately 30 planes visiting Polson Airport during the Fly-In hosted by Chapter 112 of the EAA
Berl Tiskus
Polson Fly-In
Berl Tiskus
Polson Fly-In
Berl Tiskus
Hank Galpin, 64, Kalispell, pilots his 1928 TravelAir 6000 over Polson Airport during the Polson Fly-In.
Berl Tiskus
The wing on the Life Flight plane looks a mile long. The SuperKing air F90 is owned Metro Aviation but flies patients from hospital to hospital as a Life Flight plane.
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POLSON — Aircraft of all sorts — helicopters, biplanes, floatplanes, trainers, homebuilts, experimental and antique planes — rolled onto the tarmac at the Polson Airport on Saturday for the Polson Fly-In.
The SuperKing Air F90 plane made an appearance; the aircraft belongs to Metro Aviation and flies patients from hospital to hospital as a Life Flight plane, working out of Providence St. Patrick’s Hospital in Missoula.
“If there’s a burn case in Polson, we fly them to the burn center in Harbor View in Seattle,” said Don Leatham, critical care emergency paramedic from St. Pat’s.
The flight team consists of a critical care paramedic and a flight nurse, and all personnel have at least eight years experience, according to the Providence St. Patrick’s website.
Metro Aviation pilot Mike Horton flies the aircraft, and it’s in the air almost every day.
The Life Flight teams rotate from the KingAir to the helicopter, Leatham said.
Another unusual plane was a 2006 Air Tractor 802, a single engine air tanker belonging to Evergreen Flying Service in Rayville, La. The plane is used for firefighting and holds 800 gallons of retardant to drop on wild land fires. Two of the planes, with their 1,340 horsepower engines, are currently contracted to the Flathead Reservation and are stationed at the Ronan Airport.
Kenny Jackson of Abilene, Tex., pilots the plane.
Earlier this summer Evergreen pilot Chris McKittrick joined Jackson on initial attack for fires in Nevada and California, as well as the Lolo and Eagle Pass fires.
Although the temperature is beginning to cool down and the days are getting shorter, there’s a lot of fire season left, Jackson said.
The weather was clear and sunny for the Polson Fly-In, which drew 30 planes to the Polson airport, according to Carmine Mowbray, member of the Chapter 112 of the Experimental Aircraft Association that sponsors the fly-in. That number is down a little from previous fly-ins, Mowbray said, probably due to gas prices. Aviation gas used to be about $1 more per gallon than regular gasoline. Now she said the Polson Airport keeps the fuel down to about $5.60 per gallon — “good prices.”
She also estimated about 300 area residents visited the airport to see the planes; many had breakfast in one of the hangars. It’s a fundraiser for the EAA chapter and allows families to tank up on eggs and pancakes and see some planes.
Mowbray said all the area pilots love to have folks come out and realize the importance of the Polson Airport.
