Simsbury Fly-in, Car Show and Food Truck Fest set for Sept. 24-25
The 42nd annual Simsbury Fly-in, Car Show and Food Truck Fest will take place at Simsbury Airport, on Sept. 24 and 25.
The event is the largest of its kind in New England and this year’s event could be the biggest yet.
Organizer Bill Thomas said more than 100 airplanes and 600 cars are expected to be on display. The “fly-in” is a traditional aviation event, wherein small plane owners from across the state and region are invited to fly into Simsbury and display their planes.
“We get very old airplanes and brand-new airplanes,” Thomas said. “We get home-built airplanes - a lot of those.”
On Saturday, Sept. 24, more than 20 food trucks will be on-hand to satisfy a variety of culinary tastes. Also, approximately 150 vendors will be available from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in a country fair-like atmosphere.
“It’s craftspeople, local businesses, sometimes national businesses,” Thomas said, “all displaying their wares, selling things, and advertising to the community.”
The planes and cars arrive Sept. 25, starting at 8 a.m. and will be on-hand all day (along with the food trucks) until 5 p.m.
The car show will include any kind of car that owners wish to show.
“Unlike a lot of shows that limit the cars to a particular make, model, or year, we will take any vehicle with wheels,” Thomas said. “We get cars, we get hot rods, we get Stanley Steemers, we get brand-new Ferraris, and old school buses. It’s pretty much soup-to-nuts.”
Aircraft aficionados, as well as more-casual fans, will have plenty to be excited about, as there will also be several aerial demonstrations.
Sunday will feature helicopter rides, formation flying, World War II training plane rides, drone demonstrations, a firefighting demonstration, and car and airplane seminars.
“The World War II airplane is big and noisy,” Thomas said.
The seminars are free of charge, and are on a variety of topics including car restoration, the Ninety-Nines Women Pilots’ Association, Gyroplanes, air traffic control, and learning to fly.
A major feature this year will be an all-electric (100% battery powered) airplane, displayed for the first time in Connecticut. Thomas said that electric airplane batteries have been historically heavy, but newer technology has produced commercially-available airplanes. The plane that will be at the show is the Pipestrel Electro, made in Slovenia, and will be the subject of a seminar and will be performing a demonstration flight.
“This is a real first for our show,” Thomas said.
The LifeStar helicopter will also be making a visit to the show, as will a gyroplane.
The Simsbury Airport is located at 94 Wolcott Road, in Simsbury. Parking is available on and near the airport grounds. Parking is $15 per vehicle and benefits local Boy Scouts. Admission to the event is free, and donations to the Simsbury Airport Association (an all-volunteer nonprofit organization) are accepted.
For more information, visit simsburyflyin.com.
