It seems as if the only nice weather was directly over Atlanta for the 2014 BU & BBQ. Six Bückers were there and an equal number of Bückers were stuck trying to get there. It was a very successful event and everyone had a good time.
Friday afternoon, I lamented about the turn out. Steve Beaver was stuck in Ohio because of the awful winds. Len Elmendorf couldn't leave Florida because of the stalled stationary front. The north eastern US had several days of torrential rain turning the grass runways into quagmires. That grounded the Buckers of Vasile, Stringer and Wells. It was a disappointing afternoon until Gordon Clement summed it all up.
"It's about the people..." he said.
Yes, he was right. Even though their planes were grounded, the above mentioned Bücker stalwarts drove to the event. It was great to see several other longtime Bücker folks like Jim White, Holly and Talmadge Scott and Sonny Nivens. I met some new Bücker people too. Gilles and Axel Tatry came all the way from Toulouse France to join us.
Gordon was right. It was about the people.
Flying into the event was Tom Muller in his blue Jungmeister, John Downing in his Swiss Jungmann, Steve Hawley from South Carolina and Robert Johnston from Sylvania, GA. I was fortunate to hitch a ride with Ed Eldridge in his Jungmann since mine is down for recover. Even former Bücker Bestmann owner Richard Epton showed up with his Gull-Wing Stinson. Ed and Kyle Campbell flew from Pittsburgh in their Piper Cherokee 140 with pictures of their Jungmann restoration.
We were fortunate to have airshow pilot, aerobatic instructor and all around great guy Greg Koontz join us for the weekend. Greg grew up around some of the Bücker greats like Jim Moser and actually flew Moser's N1947G when he was in his early twenties. Gordon Clement recognized the tinge of nostalgia in Greg's eyes and said, "Hey, you want to fly it again?"
We were treated to a beautiful aerobatic routine between two old friends. It was magical.
Our weather was spectacular. The food was good. The hospitality was even better. A special thank you to Mary and Gordon Clement for allowing us to invade their airport.
There are more pictures in the picture gallery here. See you next year.
Brian