The Cowra Airport and Fly Oz hosted the Australian Beechcraft Society pilot proficiency program over the weekend.
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The weekend saw 30 Beechcraft planes and their owners taking part in a flying program, service clinic, lectures and social activities from Thursday, February 24 to Sunday, February 27.
Society Vice President, David Porter, said the society has been around since the late 70s and the program was about enjoying each other's company and maintaining their knowledge and proficiency.
"We run this program biennially and basically we get our premier instructors and we get our pilots to come and do a course in bettering their aviation skills," he said.
"They get retrained in emergency operations and their handling of their specific aircraft.
"We have people come talk about avionics, we've got airframe and mechanical engineers to talk about the aircraft and we get people to inspect specific things on the aircraft, to give the owner a little check sheet and report.
"It's also a really good social gathering for pilots throughout Australia."
With COVID impacting their plans to hold the program in 2021, Mr Porter said the society was excited they had successfully held the event this year.
"Our calendar (in 2021) said yes, book, we are going to be here," he said.
"COVID said no, you are going to be locked down in all the states and we couldn't go anywhere.
"So COVID did stop some things, but not the enthusiasm, everyone was busting to get here.
"We had a lot more aircraft coming and a lot of enthusiasm to come, but a lot of the owners are farmers and they've had issues and not able to come."
He said the reception they had received during the weekend had been fantastic.
"Our membership is predominantly from South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and NSW, we have some from Western Australia and at our last BPPP we had some who flew all the way over to be here," he said.
"We've got good accommodation, good restaurants, we've got great support from Cowra Shire Council and good support from Lachlan Aviation.
"And who could forget Fly Oz, they are just great people they and their staff cannot help us enough.
"The whole airport is magnificent, the Airport Reporting Officers council provide can't do enough for us.
"There's also Young and Orange, so many beautiful little surrounding towns that allow us to fly too.
"We love it (Cowra), it such a great place," he said.
Mr Porter said he loved being part of the society and flying his plane around the country.
"I fly a 1965 model Debonair, which is a baby Bonanza, and I had that fully restored in 2018," he said.
"I'm from the automotive industry, but my father was an airline pilot. At a very young age I loved aircraft but I loved cars more.
"So I went off in the car industry and as I got older I decided flying was something I wanted to do as a pastime, a bit of fun and I was lucky enough to be able to afford the aircraft I wanted.
"It takes the wife and I wherever we want and it's a beautiful aircraft."
Unlike other aircraft societies, he said there wasn't a rivalry around who had the best aircraft.
"We've got A and G36 Bonanzas we have B55, 58 and G58 Barons and we have the 35 series V-tails," he said.
"You don't see that (rivalry) in this society, there is a vast demographic of attitudes and personalities, all sorts of things.
"But there is a commonality we are all drawn towards and they are very friendly, age group also holds no barrier, it's a common interest that draws people together."