A Gathering of Square Tails, 2006 

     
Antique Airfield is located near the small rural town of Blakesburg in the
rolling forested hills of southeastern Iowa. It is about nine miles
southwest of Ottumwa, Iowa, the closest city of any size, and just a few
miles north of the Iowa-Missouri state line. The significance of Antique
Airfield lies in that it is the home of the Antique Airplane Association
and the site of its Airpower Museum. Antique Airfield features a 2350 ft.
x 100 ft. north-south grass runway with a fairly open approach from the
south over the ever prominent Iowa corn fields and a north end that slopes
towards tree-covered gentle hills and shallow valleys.(1)   To
say the least, it presents a challenge to every pilot who operates in and
out of it, demanding their utmost piloting skills and knowledge of their
aircraft. However, over the years since its inaugural in 1970 it has seen
a multitude of antique and classic airplanes routinely master its somewhat
demanding features. These have ranged from the smallest and lightest
airplanes such as Piper J-3 Cubs and Aeronca 7AC Champions through
all the classic biplanes and even to high-performance heavy aircraft such
as North American AT-6s, Beech D-18s, Lockheed 12s, Stinson Trimotors,
a GrummanFM-2 Wildcat and a North American B-25.(2)
     Every year the Antique Airplane Association hosts
its annual fly-in from the August Wednesday prior to Labor Day through
Labor Day. The AAA-APM Fly-In actually is a convention, open only to its
members, and thus the general public is not invited. Nor is there an air
show of any kind scheduled. On an average about 250 to 350 antique and
classic airplanes usually attend each year with 276airplanes attending in
2006 from all corners of the UnitedStates.3 The truly dedicated antique
airplane enthusiast considers the fly-in at Antique Airfield to be Mecca
and those who attend immerse themselves in the ambiance personified by the
1930s-style headquarters building and hangars as well as bythe sights,
sounds and smells of radial engines, grease, oil, . . .