2005 London To Paris Air Tour

Saturday, June 11th 2005

The weather wasn't as cooperative as we would have liked, but we had a good turnout for the 2005 London To Paris Air Tour. Thanks to all the pilots, especially those who flew from far away. Thanks also to the airports for hosting the event at each stop along the way.

Click on the images below to see a larger version with more detail.

The group photo at the finish of the 2005 London To Paris Air Tour Richmond Madison County Airport Several other people participated in part of the air tour this year and they weren't represented in this picture at the finish.
	Enjoying a little camaraderie at the London Airport prior to the start of the 2005 London To Paris Air Tour.
	Arrival at the Mount Sterling Airport, as seen from Robert Ocasio's Cheetah. The weather could have been nicer, but it didn't stop anybody who attended the 2005 London To Paris Air Tour from having fun.
	Paris! Can you spot the courthouse? Paula Yeast took this photo at 2700 feet, from their Zenith 701. The zoom lens makes a nice closeup.
	Here's the arrival into Georgetown.
	Joe Sanchez is making a low strafing run on the barbecue, courtesy of the Georgetown Airport.
	The Danville Boyle County Airport is well maintained, and was a great place to rest and visit.
	Pie! Stuart Powell provided some delicious apple pie and ice cream at the Danville airport. With all the eating at this event, some planes were probably a little over their maximum gross weight for the return trip to their home field airports.
	Ken Jordan in his Aeronca Champ, avoiding the clouds. Unlike most general aviation events, the London To Paris Air Tour features a lot of fun flying.
	Brad Mitchell's 1983 Beech Sundowner from Georgetown, Kentucky. This picture was taken at the Richmond Airport, as were all the following pictures.
	Harold Lightsey's 1977 Beech Sundowner also flew in from Georgetown, Kentucky. Both of these Sundowners were very nice looking planes.
	Mark Schindler's beautiful Piper PA-32-260 from Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The Pennyrile Pilot's Association is apparently an active bunch of pilots. Hopefully some of us in the central Kentucky area can attend some of their events, and maybe next year we'll have more of them fly over for our air tour. Mark won a $50 cash prize.
	Dan and Paula Yeast flew this very nice new 2004 Zenith 701 from Frankfort, Kentucky. Dan and Paula actually went to the Czech Republic for a couple of weeks to participate in a factory quick build program. This plane has a Rotax engine and a Warp Drive ground adjustable prop and it can almost take off and land vertically.
	Chuck Reed's 1946 Aeronca Champ from Rooster Field in Shelbyville Kentucky. Chuck won the big $150 cash prize! His Champ is meticulously restored and is gorgeous, inside and out.
	This 1978 Piper Archer II flew in from Frankfort, and Jay and Brenda Vedelli won $50 in the cash prize drawing.
	Robert Ocasio's 1977 Grumman Cheetah flew in from London, KY. After the London To Paris Air Tour, he was nice enough to give Cindy Isaacs a ride back to her "plane", the Ford Windstar minvan. Robert won a $50 cash prize.
	Thomas Cooper's 1962 Cessna 150B from Keavy, Kentucky. Thomas won one of the $50 cash prizes.
	Ken Jordan's 1946 Aeronca Champ flew in from Frankfort, Kentucky. Ken did most of the organizing of the London To Paris Air Tour and was the person who did the work to make it happen this year.
	Tom Cooper received a $50 cash prize.
	George Wyatt pocketed a cool fifty bucks, too.
	Jay and Brenda Vedelli from Frankfort won a $50 cash prize.
	Robert Ocasio received a $50 cash prize.
	The Schindler's from Hopkinsville received a $50 cash prize.
	Show me the money! Chuck Reed received the $150 grand prize! Chuck and Ken are a bit too friendly. We're launching an investigation to determine exactly what happened here.
	After the London To Paris Air Tour ended, Chuck Reed was nice enough to donate a great ride in his Aeronca.
	Chuck Reed (left) and Ken Jordan (right) were the last guys to leave. Here they are just after lifting off as a flight of two from the Richmond Airport for their return flight to Frankfort after a very enjoyable day of flying.

There were many other planes and pilots who participated in the 2005 London To Paris Air Tour. We'll be adding more pictures as they're available.

If you flew in the 2005 London To Paris Air tour and you'd like higher resolution copies of any of these pictures, or a lot more pictures from this event that aren't on this web page, please call or email me and let me know what you'd like. I can email pictures, or burn a CD and mail it. If you have any good pictures you'd like to see on this web page, please email them.

Thanks to the following people who donated the prize money:

$150   Ken Jordan

$150   Aero Clean Incorporated

 $50   Cindy Isaacs

 $50   Roger Jones

An entry fee will probably be charged to collect prize money for the 2006 London To Paris Air Tour.

Thanks to all the airports who donated food and other accommodations in support of the London To Paris Air Tour.

An event like this seems to attract the best examples of aircraft. We had a wide variety of planes, and they all represented the "best of breed" for each type.

Although the weather could have been better, the 2005 London To Paris Air Tour was a big success. Everyone flew safely, there were no incidents, and everyone seemed to have a very good time.

We're already starting to plan for the 2006 London To Paris Air Tour. This is just too much fun not to be an annual event. If you have any suggestions, we'd love to hear them. You can contact us by going back to the London To Paris Air Tour home page.