Aviation and car enthusiasts had a chance to get up close to their interests and experience the airport life during a fly-in event Sunday, July 13, at the Southwest Washington Regional Airport in Kelso.
Hudson Frost, director of operations at Cascade Air, said the aviation and car communities have a lot of similarities and go hand-in-hand, as highlighted in the multi-interest fly-in and car show. The combination of vehicle interests, along with numerous vendors, provided a taste of a budding annual event with room to grow, Frost added.
Cascade Air, a fixed base operator (FBO) and flight school at the Southwest Washington Regional Airport in Kelso, is locally owned by David Statham, a fixed-wing and helicopter pilot who operates The National Wings and Armor Foundation, as well. Statham’s daughter, Jess Statham-Frost, and her husband, Hudson Frost, are also pilots.
Frost explained that there are a lot of people and entities involved in the behind the scenes process to put together an event that combines the wheels of the sky and the wheels of the roadway at the Southwest Washington Regional Airport. Frost highlighted Craig Richardson’s efforts to really spearhead the combination of land and air for this year’s fly-in.
“It really became a lot of different people that started to go, ‘Well, I’m going to go talk to so and so and see what we can bring,’” Frost said. “Which is really fun, you know. It’s not a one-man job.”
After the first couple of hours open to the public on July 13, Frost said he hopes the event with both cars and planes will turn into an annual gathering.
“It’s really good for the airport and the community,” Frost said. “It’s good to see people coming down here who have never even been here before and they’re like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that this was here.’ And they get to see LifeFlight leave, they left earlier, and people put two and two together that it’s not just an airport for toys, it’s a working environment.”
Along with maintenance services and flight school offerings, Cascade Air partners with the Kelso School District to provide ground school and four flights for high school seniors to kickstart the next generation of pilots.
In order to achieve a private pilot’s license, students need to complete 25 to 35 hours of ground school instruction, 30 to 45 dual flight instruction hours, 10 to 15 hours of solo flying, a written exam and checkride administered by a designated pilot examiner, all of which Cascade Air FBO and Flight Training provides.
To learn more about the process and what Cascade Air offers for flight school, visit cascadeair-nw.com/first-flights.
