In late May the long line of Cessna Skywagons tied down at Sky Harbor Airport (KDYT) in Duluth, Minnesota, signaled the start of the 2024 annual convention of the International 180/185 Club.
This type club, with more than 1,200 members and associates worldwide, is one of the most active and fun-loving in general aviation. Total attendance for the gathering was over 100 individuals and 43 Skywagons. And, as a club member and Skywagon owner, I was on hand.
The International 180/185 Club holds a convention once a year, providing the faithful with ample opportunity to tell flying stories, raise money for good causes, and enjoy a shared affinity for the Skywagon, one of the most accomplished all-around general aviation flying machines ever built.
For anyone not familiar with the Cessna Skywagon, it was produced from 1953 through 1981. The original engine was the 225-hp Continental O-470A, a powerplant that evolved over the lifespan of the aircraft. Altogether 6,193 180s were produced.
The 185, easily distinguished by the larger vertical fin, was built from 1961 to 1985, with 4,448 185s rolling off the factory line. The 185 was first delivered with a 260-hp Continental IO-470-F. That changed during the 1966 production year to the 300-hp Continental IO-520-D.
Reunion
The 2024 gathering was in large part a reunion, bringing together pilots and entire flying families, many of whom have known each other for decades.
There are few strangers at a 180/185 convention. Pick up your name tag, turn around and someone is waiting with a smile and welcoming words.
The first person extending a hand for many was Walter Congdon of Sterling, Connecticut. Walter is in his second year of a four-year club presidency and his wife Jean is the club secretary/treasurer.
The main organizers of this year’s event, Austin and Amanda Levin of Prairie Du Sac, Wisconsin, seemed everywhere that first day. They patiently answered questions, handed out name tags, event schedules, and a nice backpack containing assorted flying-related gifts. The Levins are both pilots with Amanda expecting an addition to their flying family in July.
“The preparations for the event took a little over a year,” Austin said. “The biggest thing is finding an airport that will accommodate us. From there, it’s finding a suitable hotel and then building out the plan.”
Austin is a civil engineer for the state of Wisconsin and also a flight instructor. Amanda is a software engineer with Google.
The May 30-June 3 convention included a fly-out morning up the Lake Superior shoreline, visits to multiple area tourist attractions, a boat lunch cruise, a silent auction to benefit the club’s scholarship program, and a tour of the home of an iconic aircraft, the Cirrus, which is assembled in Duluth.
“We are primarily a social club, hence the importance of getting the opportunity once a year to come together from all over the country and Canada and other parts of the world,” Walter Congdon noted. “Austin and Amanda did a fantastic job.”
Congdon flew his 1977 180 K model in from Riconn Airport (RI11), a private field near the Connecticut-Rhode Island state line. He is a longtime Skywagon pilot and runs a manufacturing business. Jean is in an administrative leadership position at the local public school.
The convention offered a mix of social and technical sessions, commercial presentations, and, of course, flying. Additionally, Duluth and the surrounding region provided ample tourist attractions. The weather was generally fair and cool. Those already accustomed to summer temperatures in the nineties were pleasantly greeted by 65° afternoon highs and early morning lows in the 40s.
About a dozen aircraft circumnavigated the pea soup morning lake fog on Saturday, June 1, to fly up to the port town of Grand Marais, landing at KCKC, the Cook County Airport.
The discussions on the apron at the arrival airport were mostly about the shifting, unpredictable nature of the Lake Superior fog. Eventually, there was a 15-minute walk down to lunch at Raven Rock Grill/Skyport Lodge on nearby Devil Track Lake, and then the flight back after the fog lifted around the Duluth area.
A special presentation was made at the Saturday night banquet to Howard Patton, a longtime International 180/185 member. He received the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for 50 or more years of safe flight operations.
Howard, a crop sprayer and flight instructor who runs Patton Custom Fertilizer at Sunray in the Texas Panhandle, was surprised at the presentation by the attendance of daughters Lynelle and Angela, their husbands, and five of his six grandchildren. His wife Genelle accepted the award with Howard.
John McKenna, chairman of the Recreational Aviation Foundation, was the Saturday night banquet speaker. He told the story of the RAF, noting that it began as an idea around a campfire in Montana 21 years ago. From six individuals dedicated to saving several area airfields under threat of closure, the organization has grown to 15,000 members and is represented in all 50 states.
McKenna noted that the RAF has developed important partnerships with many organizations over the years and is working to grow a new generation of leaders.
Amy Gesch, Minnesota State Liaison for the RAF, and Mike Perkins, RAF treasurer and secretary, also spoke about the expanding work of airfield preservation by the organization.
The convention ended with a Sunday evening visit to Cirrus Aircraft where staffers took club members along the piston-powered and Cirrus jet assembly lines.
The next International 180/185 convention will be in October 2025 in Tucson, Arizona.
In addition to the yearly convention, regional groups of the 180/185 Club also hold fly-out gatherings throughout the year. There are also group events in Canada and Alaska.
Find out more at Skywagons.org.
More Photos From The Convention
