Hi-Line Living: Havre takes flight

Biscuits and gravy and airplane rides comprised the most important meal of the day for many Havre youth Saturday.

Over 100 people got to go out in small airplanes flying out of the Havre City-County Airport Saturday. Hundreds of people came out to enjoy the Air Fair and Fly-In Breakfast, take plane rides and watch expert pilots do what they love.

"The pilot community is going gray," said Roger Lincoln, who has been flying airplanes for most of his life. "We need a new crop of pilots."

The kids, who get free flights, always have different reactions during their plane rides, but once they land, they all tell him they had a good time, Lincoln said. Some of the kids put their head down and look at their hands the entire plane ride, but still enjoy themselves.  

The crowd gathered at the airport was able to watch a pilot demonstrate sky bowling, dropping bowling ball aimed at metal drums painted like pins, and kids scrambled to get as much candy as they could with the candy drops made from a moving plane above the tarmac.

Along with the local pilots who turned out for the event, around 29 pilots from all across the state came in to participate. Fort Benton, Kalispell, Big Sandy, Bozeman and other towns had representatives fly into Havre to entertain the crowd, show off their rides and enjoy their skills.

The event is put on and run by the Montana Pilot Association's North Cental Hangar, a group based in Havre with members from as far as Big Sandy and Turner.

Kerin Breum has been a part of the event in some way for many years. She's married to pilot, Bob Breum who has been an active pilot, in deep with the goings-on at the airport, for years.

She said she used to be in charge of organizing the event, but she got tired and let someone younger take control of it, she said, laughing.

"They try hard to entertain the kids," she said of the pilots and their success with the years of this event.

She said the sunny weather Saturday helped a lot with this year's fly-in. If the weather is even slightly bad, people won't come out, she said, and she doesn't blame them.

"We need to get these kids to come out because we need to get them hooked on flying," Breum said. "We need more pilots."

Two flight instructors use the Havre airport regularly and the local flying club has planes to rent but, for those wanting formal classroom instruction, pilots go to Rocky Mountain College in Billings, said North Central Hangar president Willie Hurd.

Flying planes is an expensive hobby and just getting certified is not exactly inexpensive.

Vince Bakke, a flight instructor for Cloud Catcher Aviation, which is based in Great Falls, said that the average amount of money people will spend to get a license is about $8,000 to $10,000.

"A lot of it is dependent on the individual," Bakke said.

Bakke said that getting a license is a lot like being an athlete. If you practice once a week, it'll take longer to get to the point you want to be at, but if you practice more often, you can get your license more quickly and not pay as much for the rentals and fuel and such.

The fly-in breakfast has been going on for over 30 years and shows no sign of slowing.

North Central Hangar members put the proceeds from the event toward scholarships for student pilots actively working toward earning their license, small improvements at the airport and amenities for visiting pilots, like the courtesy car they can drive to town.