Saturday,  June 3rd 2006

The weather was very good this year and we all had a great time!  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.

I'd like to publicly thank Joe Sanchez for allowing me to be self-loading cargo in the right seat of his lovely and newly restored Cessna 140.  This picture was taken just north of London, on the way to Mt. Sterling.  And to the thousands of people asking about the Long-EZ I swore last year I'd be flying this year, I promise... next year for sure!

Welcome to Mount Sterling! Fred Hauser flew over from Franklin Kentucky in his immaculate 1952 Cessna 170B.  It's great when events like this serve as introductions between pilots who might not otherwise meet.  I'm looking forward to some events over in Fred's neck of the woods.

Tom Cooper joined us again this year in his Cessna 150B.  That's Ken Jordan's Aeronca Champ in the background.

Also returning for the second time were Paula and Dan Yeast.  They flew in their Zenith CH701.  I really like that little plane.  Tons of fun in a small package, and very practical.

I think this is Rusty McSwords departing Mt. Sterling, with Tom's and Fred's Cessnas in the foreground.

Georgetown Dan Ward flew over in his gorgeous Dakota Hawk from Barboursville West Virginia.  I heard many unsolicited comments about what a beautiful plane it is.  All those hours of building really paid off big time. We're reaching out to pilots in an attempt to make the London To Paris Air tour a fun regional flying event.

This nice new Remos G3 joined us this year.  It's a great example of just how pretty and functional a Light Sport aircraft can be.

Flying to Danville It's a shame most people don't get this sort of perspective on life and the world around them.

Arriving in Danville

Some of the planes parked on the ramp at Danville

Photographic evidence of Harold and Ken, taking advantage of people's laid back attitude after eating lots of pie and ice cream at Danville, secretly plotting to win back the prize money they "donated" last year. Notice to Harold and Ken - If you "win" a cash prize next year, you'll probably have some expensive "repair" needed to your Beechcraft or Aeronca.

This is what the London To Paris Air Tour is all about.  What's not to like about dancing among the sun drenched clouds over the Danville airport?

Arrival at Richmond

Show me the money! Harold Lightsey won first prize Ken Jordan won second prize Rusty McSwords won third prize To everyone else, come back next year for another chance to win! But of course, there were no losers at the 2006 London To Paris Air Tour, because we all had such a great time.

If 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. R S V P < a t > l o n d o n t o p a r i s . o r g 859 - 913 - 0747 Let me know what you'd like.  I can email pictures, or burn a CD and mail it that most late model DVD players can display as a slide show.  If you have any good pictures you'd like to see on this web page, please email them to me. Thanks to all the airports who donated food and other accommodations in support of the London To Paris Air Tour. The 2006 London To Paris Air Tour was a big success.  Everyone flew safely, there were no incidents, and everyone had a great time. We're already starting to plan for the 2007 London To Paris Air Tour, and we hope you are too.  We also hope you'll bring a friend or two next year.  This is just too much fun not to be an annual event, and Ken mentioned having it TWICE a year.  I'd like to see a later start time to accommodate the typical ground fog, as well as accommodating the pilots who would like to fly in this event but are a bit farther away. 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.