SEQUIM — With clearer skies than last year’s event, the 2019 Olympic Peninsula Air Affaire and Sequim Valley Fly-in saw a strong turnout this past weekend, event organizer/co-founder Emily Westcott said.
The seventh Air Affaire, which began in 2013 as a joint celebration for the city of Sequim’s centennial and the airport’s 30th anniversary, drew about 3,000 visitors — about twice as many as last year’s event, which was marred by smoky skies from regional forest fires.
“It went great; the weather was good … and everybody liked it,” Westcott said.
Westcott noted her highlight of this year’s event was the group of five historic planes from the Port Townsend Aero Museum.
Museum director Michael Payne, staff and volunteers at the museum work with a number of high school and college students to restore aircraft. This weekend, several students flew the planes in from Port Townsend and were on hand to answer questions about the planes.
Westcott said another highlight was the helicopter rides provided by Seattle Air Taxi.
In addition to featuring dozens of aircraft from around the region, the Air Affaire included a car show, Sequim RC Aeronauts and Port Angeles’ Olympic RC Modelers’ radio-controlled model airplanes, food and music.
Last year’s forest fires brought a down year of about a dozen planes, but this year saw 40 fly-ins on Saturday alone, Westcott said.
“The field was full of planes,” she said.
Westcott said the 2020 Air Affaire is a go, set once again for the last weekend in August.
