Just Like Old Times: Aero-TV Visits The Lee Bottom ...

'The Most Nothing You'll Ever Do' It just maybe the quintessential "Old-Style" Fly-In... a beautiful airstrip, hundreds of planes, no agendas, no schedules... just lots of airplane lovers enjoying the company of airplane loving people and their planes. It may also be the closest thing to airplane heaven on this side of eternity... or so we've been told. And now that we've been there... seen the sights, caught the vibe, enjoyed the company and just plain goofed off for the whole annual weekend event, we gotta tell you, we can't argue with that description. Every year aficionados of these antique aircraft gather at Lee Bottom on the last Saturday of September for the Wood, Fabric and Tailwheels Fly-In. This year marked the twelfth anniversary of the event. The airport, near Hanover, IN, sports a recently-lengthened 4000 ft turf runway, which seems natural for the aircraft they're trying to attract. Nestled up to the Ohio River on the Indiana-Kentucky border, Lee Bottom resides in some of the prettiest country in the midwest. Staggerwings, Great Lakes, Stearmans, Swallows, Tiger Moths... What do all these aircraft have in common? Well, they're all made with wood and fabric, and they all have tailwheels. And, of course, they can all be seen at Lee Bottom Flying Field (64I) each September (and on many other weekends)! A privately-owned airport, Lee Bottom is open to the public. Originally established in the 1930's, Lee Bottom has maintained its reputation as a haven for barnstormers and those-daring-young-men-in-their-flying-machines kind of pilots even today. The airport is located at the home of Ginger and Rich Davidson. They host the event in their back yard (which happens to be a public use airport) along with help from their immediate family members and a growing list of volunteers. Rich and wife Ginger own and 'manage' Lee Bottom -- but "no more than they have to." According to their website, "We cater to vintage aircraft and the preservation of our type of airport for the current generation, the next ...