On Sept. 7-8-9, members of the Midwest Antique Airplane Club flocked to Brodhead Airport for their annual “Grassroots” fly-in, hosted by EAA Chapter 431. This continues to be an amazing event, with a unique and varied collection of airplanes from all over the country, some on their way to or from other events in the Midwest and others making the trip to Brodhead just to enjoy the company of fellow pilots for a few days.

Behind the EAA Chapter 431 pavilion at Brodhead Airport, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012

Weather was a bit of a factor this year, with rain on Friday afternoon keeping attendance down just a little. The evening fish boil was followed by a nice crowd around the campfire and a movie in the main building.

The infield at Brodhead Airport is filling up on Saturday afternoon. Photo courtesy of Lisa Braley.

Saturday was cool and sunny, a bit windy but still a great day for flying. The Brodhead High School Art Club put on a fantastic grilled pork chop dinner. A late line of thundershowers put a damper on the campfire but a few souls still braved the elements for another late movie. Chris Price and Paul Seibert took the video below Saturday evening from the wing of their 1931 Curtiss-Wright Junior, showing the field from above after some of the early departures.

Sunday proved to be a perfect day for flying home, at least if you were headed south! Stiff north winds again made for challenging crosswinds on 9/27, but by 1:00 p.m. the airport was deserted and we put another great, long weekend in the history books.

Check out the picture gallery here, with pictures from Lisa Braley of Natural Moments Photography, Pat Weeden and Bob Pokorney. More pictures will be added int he next few days so check back.

Thank you to all the MAAC members for attending,  EAA Chapter 431 members for all the hard work, and the folks of Brodhead for putting up with a lot of great airplane noise for a few days.