We are members of the Wright-Patt Aero Club, where my husband John is a Certified Flight Instructor. We enjoy general aviation and certainly feel privileged to fly from the Air Force Base Aero Club, adjacent to Huffman Prairie Flying Field. It was Huffman Prairie where the Wright Brothers tested and perfected their early aeroplanes, learned to maneuver in flight, and taught others how to fly.
Three seasons out of the year, the Wright-Patt Aero Club is a buzz of activity: flight training, recreational flying, families forsaking the airlines and opting for general aviation for vacation travel, etc. But, in the winter, things slow down significantly.
While Huffman Prairie is the world’s first and original flying field [and the functional home of aviation], winter in Ohio is often not a friend to general aviation. Rapidly changing weather fronts, high winds, low visibility, and some of the worst in-cloud icing conditions in the country make the Ohio Valley challenging to small aircraft during the winter months.
John & I decided that we should break up the winter flying doldrums with a Groundhog Day Party, “in the hope of an early spring and a return of great flying weather.” This past Saturday we hosted the Third Annual Aero Club Groundhog Day Party at our home in Historic Huffman.
Any/all members, pilots, mechanics, staff, friends, spouses, and guests are invited. Typically [if you can average three years and call that “typical”] we have welcomed 30-35 people to our home. Though the numbers are stable, there are both recurring and new guests each year. [This year, we even had a Huffman neighbor—and new Aero Club member—stop by for a few minutes!]
It is a genuine pleasure to welcome people to our home for the first time. For one thing, it’s a great party house with its large rooms, open living room and kitchen area, and downstairs bath. I also enjoy answering questions about the house, its history, and about Historic Huffman.
It is nice to see the house, and our neighborhood, through visitors’ eyes. I am reminded of all the reasons why we left the suburbs for the City, and historic district living, almost five years ago.
I think we need to have more parties!
No related posts.
One Response to “Groundhog Day”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
February 1st, 2010 at 9:42 PM
Huffman Prairie is sacred ground. What a privilege to be able to fly in the same airspace that gave birth to controlled flight! That has to be about as good as it gets in aviation.