Dawn Patrol Rally  Eureka Springs Ark. 6-09

Dallas Morris & I attended the WW I Dawn Patrol rally in Eureka Springs Ark. in June of 09.  The first morning we had serve thunderstorms pass through, Bill & Sharon had to stop about 50 miles short of Eureka Springs because of the hail and tornado warnings.  We all went into town for lunch to wait out the storm.  We had a great visit with the flyers and plenty of catfish.  By 2 pm the sun was out & we went back to the field to set up our canapés and park Bill's trailer.  We then realized that there was no wind and the field had drained off the rain water.  We quickly assembled our airplanes to get that first flight.  We could not have had better flying weather both days, no wind at all.  Dallas & I flew several flights, all three airplanes, the Sopwith Pups & the Forkker D-VII performer beautifully. Dallas & I did get to fly the Pups together, which was a first for us.  I flew a simulated combat routine with my D-VII and Art Sheldon's 1/3 scale Sopwith Pup, boy they looked great. That was fun!    Bill & Sharon Holland flew the Sprit of St. Louis and the P-51.  Bill had the best flight and landing on the P-51 to date, he really wowed the crowd and greased the landing. This was a 3 day event Fri., Sat. & Sunday with plenty of good food and wonderful modelers.  Our motel commendations were super and the price was right, Dallas & I shared a room Thur. , Fri. & Sat nights for a total of $100.00 each.   This area is a great place to bring the wives, there are plenty for them to do & see or just relax around the pool.   Of course sitting round the bonfire in the evening with some cold beers would be great! As usual, I didn't take as many pictures as I should have but I was having too much fun. We plan to go again this year.