A community for Fairfield pilots

FAIRFIELD - No one knows better than Rene Holmberg how arduous the process of becoming a licensed pilot can be. That is why he was inspired to restart the Fairfield Flying Club, which held its first fly in at Fairfield Municipal Airport this past Saturday on Oct. 26.

During the fly in, pilots from throughout southeast Iowa landed in Fairfield. Flights were offered to members of the public for $25 and officers from the Fairfield Sheriff's Office displayed a drone the office uses to help solve crimes.

Holmberg, whose interest in aviation began when he was just a child, had originally started the process of becoming a pilot in the 90s but was stalled due to multiple reasons. The 52-year-old Fairfield resident just received his license this past February, which took him two and a half years to complete.

'It was kind of a childhood dream. When I started, I was in the twenties and just didn't have the time or money to finish it,” Holmberg explained.

'It was when I was a kid, I was standing on a dock getting ready to go sailing and I was standing there looking up at the clouds and thinking how cool it would be to float around the clouds,” Holmberg added.

The newly licensed pilot's favorite part of flying is taking off, which he described as exhilarating.

'Just being able to take off, I think the initial part when you let go of the ground, you can't really describe it any other way than ‘all of a sudden,'” the aviator said.

His inspiration to restart the club came as he was going through training and realized it could be made easier if there were a community of people he could surround himself with. His goal with the group is to not only be able to meet up with other pilots in the area but also help those interested in becoming pilots. The club recently purchased a plane for training and offers members discounted lessons and rental fees for the plane. Pilots-in-training are not only required to take lessons with certified pilots but also log at least 40 hours of flying in order to get their license.

Holmberg noted that the club currently has five members but hopes to double membership through events like the fly in. He also hoped people from nearby cities, including Fairfield would take part in events and gain an appreciation for aviation.

Along with Holmberg, Jim Masterson, who has been a licensed pilot since 1994, helped to get the club off the ground again.

'It's all fun but the landings are a lot of fun because they're challenging. There's crosswinds and you've got to be on your toes. Once you're up there flying it's kind of like navigating and making sure that the plane stays in the air but landing and taking off are the most challenging and fun parts,” Masterson said about what he considers the most exciting parts of manning an airplane.

In addition to being a member of the flying club, Masterson is also a pilot with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and was signing children up for the Young Eagles Program, which was created by the EAA to get kids involved with aviation. The fly in was the perfect opportunity to introduce the program to local kids, many of whom came out with their parents to walk around the display of parked planes and ogle at the machines.

Boaz Bar-Shimon brought his five-year-old son, Ace, to the fly in because of Ace's unending fascination with airplanes. Boaz explained that Ace, who recently moved from Thailand, has not stopped talking about planes since riding in his first on his move to Iowa. The father and son purchased tickets for a ride over Fairfield during the fly in.

'He's so excited that he won't wait inside in the warmth,” Boaz said as Ace stood anxiously behind caution tape waiting to board.

Following their ride, Boaz noted that Ace's favorite part of the ride was when the pilot would navigate at a slanted angle so passengers could see out the windows.

'He was really excited. He had a lot of fun,” Boaz explained.