LUSK – Lusk residents en- joyed a morning of wings and wheels at the Lusk Municipal Airport on Saturday. Planes, classic cars, a free pancake breakfast, and a flour drop competition were just …
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LUSK – Lusk residents en- joyed a morning of wings and wheels at the Lusk Municipal Airport on Saturday. Planes, classic cars, a free pancake breakfast, and a flour drop competition were just some of the highlights of this year’s Fly-in/Drive-In, an annual event that allows the commu- nity to learn more about their local general aviation (G.A.) airport. Royce Thompson, the sole operator of the air- port, explained that the event originated with financial con- tributions from the State Of Wyoming.
“So, the Wyoming Aero- nautics Commission allots a certain amount of money for the G.A. (general aviation) airports to hold promotional fly-ins,” Thompson said. “The whole idea behind that is to
promote the small G.A. airports around Wyoming. So, that’s how it got started. Some of the local pilots around here wanted to it. So, we de- cided to go ahead and do it.”
Of course, there was just as much action on the ground as there was in the sky. When attendees didn’t have their eyes fixed on the firma- ment, they had their gaze trained on the road. The various aircraft above the airport were compli- mented by an eclectic assortment of cars on the ground. According to Thompson, classic roadsters seemed to be the right fit for the event.
“Several other fly-ins around the state that have been going on for years do different things,” said Thompson. “A lot of them do car shows. I thought that a car show would be the easiest thing for us.”
Thompson has taken care of the Lusk Municipal Airport for roughly 20-years. When Thompson first as- sumed this role, all that comprised the airport was a dilapidated han-
gar. Since then, several improve- ments have been made to the air- port. The runaway and tarmac have been refurbished. A weather sta- tion and fixed base operator (FBO) building containing an office and a pilot’s lounge were also added. All of these amenities are available to local and sojourning pilots.
“Most of our customers from around here are ranchers and farm- ers,” said Thompson. “We have a lot of through traffic that stop here to fuel up because we have a self-serve fuel station here. So, they can fly in
any time, day or night, and get fuel without somebody being here. The pump’s on a card reader system.”
Also on hand at the Fly-In/Drive- In was Mayor Doug Lytle, who vol- unteered his time to flip up some flapjacks for hungry attendees. Lytle praised Thompson for his ef- fort in maintaining and operating the airport.
“I think it’s a great thing to let people see our airport and the work we have put into it,” Lytle said. “Royce has done a great job of keep- ing up the airport.”