CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — More than 500 aircraft and 6,100 attendees from 12 countries and 37 U.S. states converged on the 41st-annual Copperstate Fly-In & Aviation Expo at the Casa Grande Municipal Airport (CGZ) in late October.
This attendance figure tops the 2012 number by more than 600, according to fly-in officials.
Due to federal budget cuts from sequestration, this year’s fly-in was the first year in which CGZ operated as a non-towered airport.
All board directors and chairmen said they were pleased by how smoothly the event functioned in a non-towered environment. “I monitor the aviation forums, and I can’t find any complaints,” says Denny Cunningham, Air Operations Chairman.
This year, 329 volunteers were on hand — an increase of about 100 people compared to the 2012 fly-in.
Sixty-one exhibitors (an increase from last year’s event) — including a handful of food vendors — were onsite for all three days of the fly-in.
For day-by-day event highlights, a list of the 2013 aircraft judging awards recipients, and more photos, go to Copperstate.org
Next year’s fly-in is slated for Oct. 23-25.