Crowds flocked to the Plant City Airport to take part in the festivities.
On Saturday, the 14th annual Planes, Trains & Automobiles festival took place at Plant City Airport. Attendees were treated to a terrific display of some unique aircraft and automobiles, as well as model railroads and radio-controlled airplanes.
Sports cars, motorcycles, and three-wheeled trikes were among the vehicles waiting to enter the parking gate. These are enthusiasts — people who love things with motors, things that go fast. And once inside, access for spectators was fantastic. The cars on display were lined up with their hoods and doors propped open, aircraft were so close you could reach out and touch them.
Rob Crews, of Tampa, is one of the pilots I had the pleasure of speaking with. “I just love talking about airplanes,” he tells me. I watch as he takes time with each person who stops by to ask a question. I also notice when he invites several young and curious “pilots” up onto his wing to peek into the cockpit and even sit inside it.
His vintage 1977 Nanchang CJ-6 is striking, featuring a brilliant orange and yellow paint scheme complete with Chinese dragons decorating the sides. His mother’s name, Donna, is proudly painted beside the rear cockpit, with Rob’s adorning the front.
“My mom would let me skip school and take me to airshows,” he grins. “That’s how I got into all this.” Luckily, or perhaps not, kids didn’t have to skip school to attend this event, but there were plenty of them, and having a terrific time by the looks of it. Rob was fortunate enough to be exposed to aviation at a young age; several of his family members were pilots, including his mother. But not every child is so lucky.
One of the festival’s goals is to get kids interested in aviation, and another is to foster those who already have a passion for it. The Tampa Bay Aviation Association (TBAA) offers scholarships funded by proceeds from the event, and this year, two $10,000 checks were presented to a pair of local students pursuing careers in aviation. Bryson Collins and Timothy Vinson are both aspiring pilots and plan to use the money toward continuing their flight training — Bryson wants to fly large cargo jets one day, and Timothy dreams of being a pilot for NOAA.
The program seems to be working. Last year’s recipient, Juliana Goolsby, was in attendance to offer her congratulations. She used her scholarship funds to help pay for flight training and is now only days away from taking her FAA check-ride, the final mandated test to obtain her private pilot certificate.
If you love airplanes but missed this amazing local event, don’t despair. Coming up in April is one of the nation’s largest airshows, the legendary Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In at Lakeland Linder International Airport. Many of the aircraft and pilots in attendance at Planes, Trains and Automobiles will be there too, including Rob Crews and his Nanchang CJ-6. If you happen to see him, don’t be afraid to say hello. And be ready to talk airplanes!
