Atlanta Airport hosts Fall Fly-In

Local First Responders were honored guests at Saturday’s Fall Fly-in at the Hall-Miller Airport in Atlanta. Pilots from the surrounding areas were invited to land their small-engine aircraft and participate by taking visitors on short flights over Cass County and eat lunch with Atlanta’s finest.

“We do this a couple of times a year for the public,” said Airport Board President Tevis Pappas. “But this one we decided we’d do for the First Responders. Me, Robin [Betts] and Mike Lee went in together to cook hamburgers and hotdogs for them.”

With a steady stream of light planes touching down on the runway, and a steady stream of fire trucks and police cruisers on Bessie Coleman Drive, the airport played host to a sizeable crowd. The weather cooperated and families of the guests took turns making the short flights in various planes.

One of the pilots flew into Atlanta on a Tanarg 912 ultralight trike, an open-air two-seater, that is basically a flying motorcycle. The owner, Heinrich Theron of South Africa, is in the United States on a work visa and loves flying all over the country. He is currently based in Mineola, Texas and flew in from that airport to Atlanta.

“The higher elevations are much smoother. When I fly a good distance, I sit higher,” said Theron. “I flew this all the way from Seattle to Texas once - making a lot of stops to refuel – but it was a nice flight.”

Police Chief Robin Betts grilled the hamburger patties then took passengers for short flights in his Cessna C-182 T Skylane, along with the other pilots. As the planes took off, Pappas stood by the runway and sent up helium-filled balloons for the pilots to pop with their props.

“That is so awesome! I’m going to get my license and buy one of those,” said Casey Sullivan, after a ride on Theron’s trike.

His daughters, eightyear old Jemma and fiveyear old Jaci, enjoyed their very first plane ride in the backseat of Chief Betts plane. “I want to do it again,” they both exclaimed.