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By Diana Bowley of the news staff - GREENVILLE - Skip Neidhardt, 72, has made the pilgrimage to the International Seaplane Fly-In every September for the past 30 years without fail. This year will be no different for the retired U.S. Airways pilot and now operator of a seaplane pilot training school in Flagler Beach, Fla. "I see a number of people that I only see once a year," Neidhardt said Tuesday. It is the camaraderie and the chance to see the latest offerings in aviation that draw him to the annual event now in its 33rd year. This year's fly-in to be held Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 7-10, promises to be bigger and better than ever, according to organizers. The event helps the local economy and also provides scholarship funds for a local student interested in pursuing an aviation-related career. "We anticipate a good crowd, and we're hopeful for good weather, that's for sure," Darralyn Gauvin, secretary of the fly-in committee, said Tuesday. That "good crowd" typically numbers in the thousands as spectators line the Moosehead Lake waterfront in the East Cove area or go to the Greenville Municipal Airport to watch an assortment of activities or to see new aviation-related products. Gauvin said a Sikorsky S-39, NC-50V, a flying boat built in 1930, and a DC3 on floats, the world's largest seaplane, will be among exhibits on display. "It's a major event for Greenville," Telford Allen, fly-in committee president, said Tuesday. It draws tourists to the town, county and the state, he said. Gauvin said most of the lodging places in the region are filled for the four-day event. In addition, some visitors will be camping out at the airport. A large craft fair also is held in conjunction with the fly-in. Seaplane Pilots Association president Jim McManus of Florida is expected to be a guest at this year's event, according to Gauvin. In addition, a crew from Plattsburg Air Force Base in New York is expected to attend by way of a night-vision-equipped helicopter. The crew will participate in an outreach project to educate people about homeland security. On Thursday night, pilots and their guests will participate in a social and dinner aboard the steamship Katahdin, one of the last such crafts from Maine's water logging era. Friday night's activities will include a steak and lobster cook-out at a private hangar at the Greenville Airport, followed by aviation speakers and dancing. It is the events that start at 10 a.m. Saturday and 9:30 a.m. Sunday that draw the spectators. Pilots will compete in contests including takeoffs, landings, accuracy "water bomb" drops, taxi slaloms, spot landings, two-man bush pilot canoe races and a pilot canoe race. "Seaplane flying is alive and well; it's actually a very small circle of people, but everybody knows everybody," Neidhardt said. |