Although negative and frustrating ideas generally come to mind when talking about COVID-19 and it’s impacts to our lives, the great initiative carried out by enthusiastic pilots in times of this global pandemic allows us to see how creative we can be even in moments of frustration and lockdown. What do we mean?
John Naugle, Russ Keith and Mike Roberts, all pilots based in the Dallas, Texas area, decided to organize a meeting between fellow pilots with the intention of sharing flight experiences, anecdotes, and laughter as well as superb coffee. Since these meetings are held outdoors, the respective city authorities did not voice any major concerns, as social distancing could easily be respected. With all this in mind, the first Airplanes & Coffee Fly In was held at the Addison, TX (KADS) airport on August 5, 2020, where a dozen pilots participated. Due to the importance of the Addison Airport and it’s constant traffic of mainly corporate jets, the creators of this initiative decided to move month by month and travel the North Texas area, which would allow better access for new pilots to join the event in the future at an airport more easily accessible.
In a conversation with Russ Keith, he mentioned that “from the fourth meeting, word quickly began to spread about our meetings, and new pilots began to arrive. Plus, our Facebook group quickly started to grow,” which is sure to spark even more interest from both North Texas pilots and beyond. “When the Facebook group reached 6,000 members and we saw interest from more people to join, we decided to turn Airplanes & Coffee into a non-profit organization,” added Keith. With this decision, he was left with the position of President and CFO, while John Naugle and Mike Roberts were appointed as the CEO and Board Member, respectively.
Achievements and objectives
In January 2021, the sixth meeting of Airplanes & Coffee was held at the Municipal Airport of Corsicana, TX (KCRS). I was able to talk with John and there he told me some of the goals they had as an organization: They mentioned “the importance of making people aware of how accessible and friendly general aviation is,” taking into account this as a common denominator among most members. And, have there been achievements? As expected, of course there have been. “Our events grew from 20 people to hundreds. We have completed about 60 free Discovery Flights. Our Facebook group currently has more than 12,000 members, many of whom are now learning even more about general aviation. Nothing makes us happier than helping people discover a love for aviation,” Naugle closes. However, that is not all. As John had previously mentioned, in addition to promoting general aviation, Airplanes & Coffee has two other important goals in mind: providing scholarships and implementing a program for veterans.
When asked, Keith indicated that “through these Fly-Ins we promote general aviation. We have already started fundraising for scholarships and have asked interested parties to apply. We want to launch our scholarship program before adding a new program to help our veterans.”
Undoubtedly, all this has required a lot of effort on the part of the organizers, since it is not only a matter of promoting an event online, but also being aware of details as simple as serving a good hot coffee, to the important work to be able to correctly and safely accommodate all types of aircraft that arrive at these events. Fortunately, volunteers are always willing to collaborate in these tasks and thus make these meetings as comfortable as possible. In fact, we were able to see these aids in the most recent fly in of September 2021, which was held at the Lancaster, Texas Regional Airport (KLNC).
Airplanes & Coffee with Warbirds on Parade
In an unprecedented event, the organizers of Airplanes & Coffee managed to meet and work together with DFW Wing of the Commemorative Air Force last Saturday, September 4, where the “Warbirds on Parade” event took place, an event in which the CAF exhibited some of its long-lived and very well preserved aircraft, as well as offering rides on these models.
That is why some pilots decided to organize in advance and made plans for formation flights, which was very well received and applauded by the enthusiasts and spectators who came to enjoy this aeronautical day. I had the opportunity to speak with Hugh Hunton, pilot and owner of a locally based Nanchang CJ-6 aircraft, who participated in this formation flight, and like Naugle, he assures that these experiences of camaraderie offered by Airplanes & Coffee “allow you to feel full and refreshed, being surrounded by pilots with a positive attitude. Despite the general hostile atmosphere of the world, this fades to the thought that I will enjoy a great aviation day, putting controversial topics aside, and focus only on laughing, enjoying, and watching airplanes,” Hunton said. In addition, he added that “although I have not been to all Airplanes & Coffee events, I already have a very positive opinion about this monthly event. Nobody cares what you fly. I always walk around and look at cool civilian airplanes, from contemporary to classic to military to modern. This is almost like a mini AirVenture or Sun N ’Fun, everyone is there to enjoy everything related to aviation.” In fact, what Hugh mentioned about the similarity to an AirVenture is in line with what Russ Keith said, when he announced that another of the plans he has in mind is to “bring these chapters to the national and even international level in an effort to hold a multi-day airshow event.” For sure, the future that this great initiative promises will be full of successes, accompanied by new initiatives and increased goals to consolidate itself as an important monthly meeting in the United States.
Undoubtedly, if you plan to visit northern Texas, try to coordinate your visit with the first Saturday of each month and find out where this meeting will be held so that you enjoy the opportunity to meet and share with new friends, in the company of a wide variety of airplanes and, of course, coffee!
The author would like to thank the contribution to this article of Joe Fernández and Jarrod Wilkening.
