Copperstate Fly-In Changes Schedule And Menu

Arizona has hosted some form of the popular Copperstate Fly-In every year for over 30 years, and it has been held at at least six different sites. This year, the change is all about the date, pushing back to later in the fall in hopes of cooler weather. This year’s show will run Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 26 to 29, which statistics say should provide 80-degree days, 12 degrees cooler than past events. Show organizers also have axed the usual afternoon air show and replaced it with hourly fly-bys and demos of the antique, classic, and homebuilt aircraft that fly in to the field. The change will keep the airport open all day, organizers said this week, and give the fly-in pilots who attend the show a chance to showcase their aircraft. The fly-bys will include manufacturer demonstrations, mass flights of the latest light sport aircraft, a Parade of Flight from the oldest airplane on the airport to the newest, and more. “People come to Copperstate to see airplanes,” said the organizers in a news release on Tuesday, “and while giving them close-up scrutiny on the ground scratches one itch, seeing and hearing them in flight adds a totally different dimension to the experience. That’s the experience Copperstate will give you at this year’s event — Fly-In pilots won’t be just attending the show, they’ll be part of it.” The 2006 event will be held at Casa Grande Municipal Airport (CGZ), located midway between Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., just a few miles west of Interstate 10.