At left: Oone of the Airpark property owners, brings flowers to decorate the smorgasbord table. Todd Davis, a corporate pilot, stands in the background.

Above: Event sponsor Ralph McCormick, publisher of Fly-Low, and spouse Sudi McCormick, grilled burgers
for the bring-a-dish supper.

Above: Roast pork, hot from the dug pit, is
prepared for the campout smorgasbord.

Above: Close to 250 pilots, their families and friends enjoyed the Friday night family style supper..

Above right: Jim Collom, Airpark manager (and man of many hats) enjoys a burger and a social chat with his brother, Bill, after a day of never ending preparations. (Hey Jim... When you say "porta-potty" you're not foolin!) >>>

Above right: Model helicopters on exhibit.

At right: Vendor booths offered everything from parfume and jewelry to high-tech "building block" construction packages.

Below: Event sponsor Community Water gave out free bottles of ice-cold, filtered water "Break Fluid".

At right: Parachutists floated like snowflakes from the skies.

The crowd was dazzled by the aerobatic performance of “Catch 22,” a North American T-6 (Navy SNJ-4) advanced trainer from World War II, built in 1942 and flown by Stan Musick of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Stan's co-pilot is pictured on the wing.

Ongoing live broadcast, describing many of the activities, was aired by KGFL-KHPQ Radio of Clinton, with Sid King (pictured at left) at the microphone.

JoAnn Collom (pictured at right), ever-gracious hostess of Holleyfest, found scant few moments to breathe let alone relax!

The special Temporary Control Tower, provided jointly by FAA LIT and LIT AFB, logged over 250 landings during the Saturday event and at one time had 15 inbound aircraft within an 8 mile radius of the runway. "Sounds just like Oshkosh!" One aviator exclaimed.

Mike Ramirez (far right), of the Missouri Pilots Association, took on the job of coordinating special events, in this instance explaining to Girl Scouts where their Presentation of the Colors was to be staged.

Flag ceremonies and patriotic skits, presented by Girl Scout Cadette Troop 331 of Shirley and Fairfield Bay (above) and Boy Scout Troop and Cub Scout Pack 152 of Clinton (at right), were a featured highlight of the Saturday festivities .

The Arkansas State Aeronautical Commission and JBR Flight Service of Jonesboro (not pictured) also presented educational programs.

The catered BBQ Ribs & Chicken luncheon had hungry eaters lined up for what seemed like a mile.

The lunch crowd filled the private hangar, set up as a banquet room with tables, chairs and linens provided by Shadow Ridge Villas & Conference Center.

In the background, Jim Collom (at the mic) prepares to introduce keynote speaker, Jim Burnett (standing, far right).

“We are presently in a crisis,” said Transportation Safety Consultant and former head of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Jim Burnett

Burnett’s critical diagnosis was not, however, related to the threat of terrorism but comes under the heading of something far more mundane and, according to Burnett, almost completely preventable. “Threat of a runway collision is the leading risk to a commercial air traveler,” Burnett, citing statistics about the number of runway incidents, warned pilots that the taxiways and runways of major airports are far more dangerous than the skies.  

“Today's pilots taxi 75 million dollar aircraft around the airport surface using paper charts of the airport layout, looking out the cockpit windows for signs, markings, and lighting that are often misleading or inadequate to guide them,” Burnett asserted. “The use of this ‘flintstone’ technology is in stark contrast to the navigation technology used during flight operations,” he said. “Yet we all can rent a car from AVIS that provides precise ‘moving map’ guidance supported by Global Positioning System (GPS) technology.”  

Making matters worse, Burnett alleged that the FAA has been aware of this growing problem for years [see: www.fly-low.com/burnett/incursions.html], actually having commissioned a “think tank” study of the situation in the interest of finding a cure. But, said Burnett, the results of this study did not find favor with highly placed officials at the FAA and thus the recommendations have been “buried” and no action taken because, as Burnett sees it, “The short-term action required will be painful.”

Also on the luncheon agenda, KARK-TV Chief Meteorologist Brett Cummins (pictured at left), leader of the Arkansas Weather Team on Channel 4 News, elaborated on an interesting study conducted by members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) last year. “The grounding of commercial aviation during the three days following 9-11 gave meteorologists a unique opportunity to see what effect, if any, commercial aviation has on weather conditions,” Cummins reported, noting that the results were “surprising.”

“We found that contrails (aircraft exhaust gasses which condense in the atmosphere as high-flying wispy clouds) actually have a moderating effect on daily highs and lows,” Cummins explained. “The study looked at the average high and low ground temperatures during the three days prior to, during, and after the grounding of commercial air traffic. What we saw was that the contrails actually seem to decrease the average high and increase the average low by roughly two to three degrees, which is a substantial amount,” Cummins said.

Holleyfest events proved to be a tad too overwhelming for some of the up-and-coming aviators (pictured at right), who found quiet time and a nap to be a very important order of business. 

Collaboratively sponsored by the Holley Mountain Airpark Property Owners Association, Community Water Service, Arkansas Airframe, Davidson Solid Rock Insurance,  Shadow Ridge Villas & Conference Center, Fly-Low Magazine, other activities included a horseshoe tournament, a popsicle stick drop with prizes for children, the “all you can eat” BBQ Ribs & Chicken luncheon along with vendor booths and exhibits of over 150 antique and custom planes plus a variety of motorcycles and automobiles. The two-day agenda concluded with trophies and an awards ceremony.

Jim Collom (near left) and event coordinator Timothy Posey (far right) award trophies. >>>

<<< More trophies, awarded by Mike Rameriz (right) and Timothy Posey.

“General Aviation is as much a backbone of this country as was the Pony Express,” said Jim Collom, general manager of Holley Mountain Airpark (Airport Identifier 2A2). “And that is a big part of the reason we sponsor this annual event.” Collom said plans for Holleyfest 2003, to be held September 12 & 13 next year and featuring a full aerobatics air show, are already in the works.

Holley Mountain Airpark, a prestigious and gated residential aviation community nestled in the dense native forests high atop the Ozark Mountain from which it draws its name, is located in Van Buren County, near the city of Clinton, Arkansas. Tours of the Airpark are available almost anytime by appointment. For more information, phone 501-745-5300, email arkair@artelco.com or visit www.HolleyMountainAirpark.com on the Internet.