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COPA 177 Spring Fly-In Breakfast 2019 Part I
By Kevin Moore, Contributing Editor & Photographer
A great spring day for flying meant lots of visiting aircraft for the annual COPA 177 Breakfast fly-in at Sexsmith Airport (CSX7) in Exeter, Ontario, Canada.

Sexsmith Airport (CSX7) is a typical small, grass strip in the heart of farm country in southwestern Ontario. The main east/west runway is roughly 3100' feet with the shorter north/south runway only 1200'. There are a couple of dozen assorted small aircraft that call the field home and 30-40 COPA members.

Early Sunday morning and the calm before the storm. While members are tucked way in the hangar cooking, the grounds outside the small Sexsmith country airstrip are quiet, awaiting the arriving aircraft.

Every spring, the members of COPA 177 offer a delicious fly-in, or drive-in, breakfast that consists of eggs, sausages, hashbrowns and juice or coffee. Affectionately referred to as the "$100 breakfast" (for pilots who fly in), it's a great social gathering where like minded folks can enjoy good food and good company on a lovely spring morning.

The first aircraft arrived a little after 7:00am but, as the morning progressed and it looked like the day was going to be suitable for flying, more aircraft started to arrive including a Wagero Husky Cuby, left, and Wagero Cuby, right.

Many aircraft types fly in for the event and, if you're an aeroplane spotter, it's a great place to watch aircraft come and go throughout the morning and into the early afternoon. Aircraft typically begin to arrive sometime after 7:00am, with some folks arriving as late as lunchtime. As long as aircraft and people are there, breakfast is cooked and served.

This beautiful Grumman Widgeon flew in from Sarnia, Ontario. Though he shot an approach, the owner and his instructor elected not to land due to very soggy field conditions after a very wet spring. He did, however, shoot a second approach which was certainly appreciated by those in attendance.

Some aircraft and pilots make the trip every year, and often for other events like COPA 177s late summer corn roast (Aug 27th, 2019). For other pilots, it was their first time visiting Sexsmith, such as the Grumman Widgeon, though it didn't technically land, due in part to the fact that the airfield was still relatively wet and an aircraft of its size would likely have left some deep tyre tracks down the runway.

Always attracting lots of attention, the red & white Stearman turns heads wherever it goes but a little smoke never hurts... and it looks good!

A head-turner wherever it goes was Bruce Bond's 1941 Stearman, sporting its bright red paint scheme with white details. Though the Stearman, with it's noisy radial up front, doesn't need to announce its arrival with smoke, Bruce enjoys laying a trail down the runway for photographers and fans of the vintage aircraft.

Cessna aircraft are popular throughout North America and are a common sight at airports, including fly-ins.

Cessna aircraft, ever apparent in skies throughout North America, are often seen attending fly-ins and the Sexsmith fly-in was no exception. Cessna Aircraft Corporation was founded in Wichita, Kansas in 1927. Though they were purchased by General Dynamics Corporation in 1985 and Textron Inc in 1992, they still produce aircraft under the Textron Aviation brand of companies.

A Cessna 170B, left, and a Cessna 172, right, flew in for the breakfast.

Cessna aircraft fly as tricycle or tailwheel versions, though some have been modified to fly in a manner they were not originally designed for such as a Cessna 150, designed as a tricycle (nose wheel) gear aircraft but modified to operate as a tail dragger. Whatever the gear configuration, Cessna aircraft often make up 35% - 50% of the visiting aircraft at many fly-ins.

The Piper J3 is a beautiful 2-place, tandem tail dragger. It's a favourite of many single engine, weekend pilots for doing short day trips, visits to fly-ins, airport restaurants for the "$100 dollar hamburger," or for just a "hop around the patch..." after a long day at work and to enjoy the sunset on a warm summer evening.

Piper aircraft are also very common in the skies of North America. The Piper Aircraft Company was formed in 1937, introducing their first aircraft, the iconic yellow Piper Cub. Piper has produced over 144,000 aircraft from the single engine Cub to the twin engine Seminole. At one time, many referred to the Cub as the aircraft of the 'flying farmer,' but the Cub is loved by many pilots, from farmers to high time commercial airline pilots.

Piper makes other aircraft including low wing tricycle gear such as the Warrior, Cherokee and this Piper Dakota.

The Piper Cub, as we've seen above, is renowned for it's brilliant yellow colouring and has inspired many Cub-like copies. Purists will always swear by the abilities and flying characteristics of a true Cub but the cost of purchasing the Piper version means some are forced to seek more affordable Cub copies. Of course, the venerable Cub isn't the only Piper aircraft that made an appearance to the fly-in breakfast. Piper makes tricycle gear aircraft such as the Cherokee, Warrior and this example of the Dakota that made the trip to Sexsmith.

At home on wheels, skis or floats, the Piper Cub and its copies are well suited to all kinds of flying and it looks right at home on floats like this Wagero Cuby.

The Piper Cub is often considered well suited for ski and float flying as well. A Cub on floats is right at home in places like Ontario or Quebec in Canada or in Michigan or Alaska in the US where water is abundant offering their pilots many places to put down when land isn't readily available. Some are used today as small bushplanes, for getting some much needed supplies into a hunting camp or getting that lone fisherman or hiker into a remote area.

You never know what you'll see when you attend a fly-in including a Boeing Stearman, left, and a Cessna 170B, right. Come back next week for Part II to see what else made the trip to Sexsmith Airport for their annual fly-in breakfast.
The Grumman Widgeon looks pretty impressive lined up for landing on the grass runway, left. Another look at the Wagero Husky Cuby, right, just before touch down.
The Wagero Cuby on floats, climbing away on its way home after breakfast.

Next week we return to Exeter, Ontario to see some of the other aircraft that made the trip to the Sexsmith Airport for the "$100 breakfast."

By Kevin Moore, Contributing Editor & Photographer
kevinwmoorephotography@hotmail.ca
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