Bright yellow Piper Cub airplanes took to the skies above the Lompoc Valley on Friday and Saturday as part of the 35th installment of an event billed as the longest-running of its kind.
The annual West Coast Cub Fly-In, based at the Lompoc Airport, revved up Saturday with a wide range of festivities, including piloting contests. Attendees to the gathering were able to see the historic planes up-close and in action, as well as interact with the pilots who came from near and far.
The event is an annual celebration of the Piper Cub, a small plane manufactured between 1937 and 1947 that was used extensively during World War II. The theme for this year's fly-in was "Fly Me to the Moon!" in recognition of this being the 50-year anniversary of the 1969 Apollo moon landing.
Saturday's activities included aerial games and pilot proficiency contests, as well as meals and tours of the aircraft on the ground.
The three-day fly-in, which drew about 100 planes, is set to wrap up Sunday with a mass exodus of the planes.
The Lompoc event was started by local residents Bruce Fall and Monty Findley, both of whom have since died. It is considered the longest consecutively running Cub fly-in in the United States.
This year's fly-in was coordinated by the local Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 275, Explore Lompoc, the city of Lompoc, the Lompoc Airport, and a team of volunteers.
For more information on the event and its history, visit https://www.westcoastcubflyin.com/.
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