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Barnstorming Carnival Draws A Crowd In Springfield

Attendees turned out to enjoy Clark County's first ever Barnstorming Carnival at Springfield Beckley Municipal Airport. airplane
Wayne Baker
/
WYSO

  The Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport and Airpark hosted the first-ever Barnstorming Carnival in the area over the weekend. 

Xenia resident Dewey Davenport organized the event. He was pleased with the attendance and volunteer support that helped make the two-day carnival successful.

"We've had a great turnout of aircraft, spectators. This has been very successful I would say for the first year. A lot of people are enjoying the antique aircraft, getting to see some of them fly, some of the model airplanes flying," Davenport said. " You can just see some of the kids playing here with their parents. I'd say it's very successful with that."

Pilots from around the country flew their vintage planes mostly from the 1920s and 1930s to Springfield. Joe Santana, from Waynesboro, Virginia, was one of the barnstormers who flew to Clark County.

"We brought two airplanes this year—a 1928 Travel Air and a 1939 Piper Cub. As long as you maintain them, the aerodynamics don't change, so there very safe, of course they are always inspected every year," Santana said. "So they seem to perform well and we have a lot of fun with them."

Larry and Gail Lash of Springfield had always wanted to ride in a vintage airplane. They were able to do that Sunday.

"It was wonderful, I would do it in a heartbeat again, anytime," Gail Lash said.

Larry said, "I always kind of wanted to ride in one of those and today was just the opportunity to ride in it, it was just great."

Dewey Davenport is hoping to get more sponsors and help from the City of Springfield in order to bring the Barnstorming Carnival back for a second year.