Desert Aire Fly-In scheduled for Saturday

DESERT AIRE — People will get a chance to see some cool airplanes and eat a pancake breakfast at the Desert Aire Airport Saturday. The annual Desert Aire Fly-In is scheduled for 7 to 11 a.m. at the airport hangar at 121 Desert Aire Place.

“It’s really intended to provide an opportunity for the community to come together, see some airplanes, talk to pilots,” said Joyce Trantina, the event organizer. “It’s the airport’s only fundraiser, but that’s not its main purpose. It’s for community building.”

Bob Trantina, a member of the airport board and airport manager, said it’s also a way to let people around Mattawa and Desert Aire know the airport is there.

“Trying to get the word out to the general public that we have an airport here. And that it’s a very nice one,” he said.

The fly-in has been going on for at least a quarter-century, even a little longer, but nobody’s sure how long. As with many other things, the fly-in was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’ve had it for more than 25 years,” Joyce Trantina said. “This could be 26 or 27 (years).”

Pilots come in from throughout the state, she said, and from further afield.

“A lot of the planes come from the west side,” she said. “But we’ve also had planes from Idaho, from this area, Moses Lake (and) Spokane.”

Weather plays a role in attendance because clouds gathering over the Cascade Mountains complicate the trip from the west side.

“The challenge, a lot of times, is whether the aircraft will be able to get in here,” Joyce Trantina said. “The year before COVID, we had very few aircraft because they weren’t able to get over the pass.”

When the weather is good, though, the fly-in can draw a pretty good crowd.

“About 2018, we had 35 or 40 aircraft flying in. They were everywhere,” she said.

LifeFlight is scheduled to have a helicopter on display, barring a medical emergency; it should arrive around 8:30 a.m. Two other helicopters are using the airport during June and may be on display depending on the weather.

It’s cherry season in Mattawa, and cherries are delicate and susceptible to damage from rain. The turbulence from a helicopter blows away the water that otherwise might ruin a crop, a process called cherry dusting. The choppers are parked at Desert Aire in case of rain.

“That’s just an example of one of the ways the airport helps the community beyond the people who live in Desert Aire,” Bob Trantina said.

Desert Aire also is used by pilots in training from Moses Lake and Ellensburg, he said.

“It’s got ag uses, it’s got emergency uses, in addition to recreational pilots,” Joyce Trantina said.

The airport is a general aviation facility, privately owned but available to the public, Bob Trantina said.

There’s a suggested donation of $7 for breakfast. The menu includes pancakes, eggs, sausage and coffee or juice.

“Staffed by great volunteers,” Joyce Trantina said of the chow line.

“A lot of them,” Bob Trantina said.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.