Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Abbeyshrule all set for weekend ‘Fly-In’

AIRCRAFTS from all over Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe will be flying into the beautiful village of Abbeyshrule this forthcoming weekend, Saturday, 30 August, and Sunday, 31 August, for the Abbeyshrule Fly-In.
By Michelle Crawley
As one of the longest running events in the country, having not skipped a year in over thirty years, Abbeyshrule Airfield hosts an exciting weekend of aircraft themed entertainment. In previous years, planes lit up the sky with impressive displays, much to the amazement and delight of spectators who flocked from all over the country to be a part of the festivities.
The event is run in conjunction with Abbeyshrule Tidy Village who will be giving tours of the village during the weekend. As is tradition at Abbeyshrule Airfield’s annual event, there will be lots on offer for all the family, including attractions and fun activities for the little ones. There will also be a barbecue on Saturday evening in The Rustic Inn for all to enjoy.
UP CLOSE AND
PERSONAL
Speaking to Topic this week, John Logan, one of the hardworking organisers of the fly-in, explained that this year’s two day event will give the public a chance to get up close and personal with a collection of aircrafts. The Aircrafts will be landing at the airfield over the two days, some of whom will only be travelling a short distance from near by airfields dotted across the country and others will come from further a field such as Germany, France, and Spain.
The organisers are expecting an array of aircrafts to be flying in over the weekend including home built aircrafts made of fabric, to the more powerful general aviation aircrafts such as single seated microlights.
“The whole idea of a fly-in is that these aircrafts will drop in to us here in Abbeyshrule. The public will get the chance to meet the pilots, sit in the aircrafts, take pictures, and find out information about aviation. Unlike other years when we did air shows, the public will actually get to access all areas, ” he outlined.
INTERNATIONAL APPEAL
While the Irish weather is always an unpredictable factor for events of this nature, Johnny says that the skies are looking clearer than the early part of this week and that the organisers are expecting a good turnout from the public and from the sky! “It is always hard to know how many aircrafts we will have as you only really find out on the day. We will be contacted over the radio by pilots on the day.” However, the organisers have already been given a good response from aircraft clubs across the country, as well as a number of aviation enthusiasts from mainland Europe, including French and Polish parachuters and earlier this week, a Spanish pilot touched down at Abbeyshrule Airfield ahead of the weekend festivities as he didn’t want to take the chance that he would miss out on the event if there were adverse weather later in the week.
AVIATION AS A CAREER?
Johnny also pointed out that the two-day event will also serve as a good opportunity for those interested in learning more about aviation or thinking of pursuing a career in the industry. “It may be hard to believe but 110,000 people in Ireland are employed in the aviation industry. It is a huge industry here in Ireland and one that many people don’t even think about. So for school leavers who may be considering what they are going to do next, or looking into career options, or anyone who is interested in starting out in aviation, there will be loads of information on offer here over the weekend from what is involved, to how one gets a license and the like, so I would encourage anyone with an interest to come along and find out for themselves what it is all about.”
APPRECIATION
Johnny Logan explained to put on an event like this takes a lot of effort from a big crew of volunteers and expressed thanks on behalf of Abbeyshrule Airfield to all those who have helped out, particularly the 50 volunteers who will be marshalling and helping with the running of the event, Abbeyshrule Tidy Village, Ned Reilly of Stonefacings for sponsoring the barbecue, AeroClub 2000 and Tandem Skydive who have supplied a lot of manpower and given a lot of time to this event.

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