Hood River Fly-In Set for This Weekend

An estimated 2,000 visitors attended the 2022 fly-in event, which is a major fundraiser for the Western Antique Airplane and Automobile Museum at Ken Jernstedt Airfield / Hood River Airport (4S2). [Courtesy: Farron Brougher]

The Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon, is hosting its annual Hood River Fly-In this weekend at Ken Jernstedt Airfield (4S2), 2 miles south of the city.

The airport is named for a World War II fighter pilot who later became a community leader. The airport has both paved and grass runways and is home to one of most impressive antique aviation and automobile museums in the country.

[Courtesy: Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum]

The event runs September 7-8 and usually attracts hundreds of people who want to view and sometimes fly in antique aircraft or get up close to vintage machines. Admission is $20.

Camping is encouraged, and local and semilocal antique aircraft owners often set up a tent under the wing of their machines, not unlike the barnstormers of the 1920s and ’30s.

Getting there by air requires some planning, as visual flight rules are required. Pilots are encouraged to download the VFR reporting points information and to double-check the NOTAMs along their route because of smoke and TFRs due to ongoing wildfires.

Fly-In Hood River WAAAM Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum

Meg GodlewskiAuthor

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.