Aviators gather for Fly Van Buren

Fly Van Buren was held the morning of Saturday, June 19 at the Keosauqua Municipal Airport.

Despite the overnight and early morning showers, approximately 30 planes made their way to the Villages of Van Buren. Emily Shipley, Executive Director for the Villages of Van Buren said, “As much as we needed the rain, we were keeping our fingers crossed it would subside long enough for Fly Van Buren to be a success after it was canceled last year. The sun did emerge, the planes began to fly in, and the community showed up to enjoy a delicious breakfast and admire the planes. Everyone appeared to be having a great time.”

The Keosauqua Lions Club had their first all-you-can-eat Pancake & Sausage Breakfast since 2019 and they sold out with over 200 breakfasts served. Dar Chapman provided his impressive collection of radio control airplanes on display in the hangar.

Indian Hills Community College Aviation Department was on site with information about pursuing a career in aviation along with some giveaways. The Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter and flight crew were on site during the last hour of the event providing an up-close look at the air ambulance.

All children under 12 were provided two coupons: one for a free small ice cream cone from Misty’s Malt Shop and one for a free small Gatorade from Boyd’s Grocery, both located in Keosauqua. The kids were encouraged to make paper airplanes and had the opportunity to win a prize if they could make it to the target.

There were the annual door prize drawings for two airplane rides. The winners, drawn by a couple of young helpers, were Debra Johnson from Bloomfield and Isabell Blakley from Stockport.

“Congratulations to the winners and thank you all for coming out,” Shipley said.