CRESWELL – A UFO sighting in Creswell?
That’s right, but in this case, instead of Unidentified Flying Objects, it will be United Flying Octogenarians – and they will be descending upon Creswell’s Hobby Field Airport on Sept. 7 as they celebrate an extra special commemorative flight.
Two “octogenarians,” or people who are between 80 and 90 years old, are currently flying a 4-seat airplane around the world to commemorate the first airplane flight to do so.
In 1924, four Douglas World Cruiser planes, flying in formation, flew east out of Seattle as they embarked on a mission to fly around the world. One plane crashed and another was grounded with major mechanical problems, but the other two planes made it.
The flight, conducted by the United States Army Air Service (now called the US Army Air Force), was accomplished between April 6 and Sept. 28, 1924, and in the process, changed the way people thought about air travel.
“The public in general looked at (flying) as entertainment,” said Creswell’s Gary Ludeke, Oregon’s UFO state host. “There were aircraft in World War I. But if you were going any distance you used a train or an ocean liner.”
On Sept. 7, two pilots – Bob and Sergey – will land at Hobby Field (synonymously known as the Creswell Airport) in their Piper Commanche ZK-BAZ. They stopped in Eugene in 1924, but since that airport is no longer there, the pilots are landing at Hobby Field instead. There will be a meet-and-greet for the public on Sept. 8, then they will depart on Sept. 9. Details have yet to be finalized and The Chronicle will update readers with more information as it becomes available.
The United Flying Octogenarians were formed in 1982.In order to qualify, a pilot has to fly their aircraft as Pilot-in-Command on or after their 80th birthday.
“We have over 2,000 members, all over the age of 80,” Ludeke said. “We have at least three aircraft owner/pilots regularly flying and based at the Creswell Airport.”
Hobby Field formerly was a private field before it was purchased by the City. Before that, Walker Field, a grass field south of Creswell, was used as a landing strip.
“UFOs are a bunch of kids who never grew up,” said Ludeke, who’s 82.
At the annual northeast meetup at the Danbury (Conn.) Airport a month ago, a shirt was spotted that read: “It’s weird being the same age as old people.”
The two octogenarians are on a pause at Bob’s home in New Guinea until Aug. 24, when they will resume crossing the Atlantic and the United States. The trip started in Guam and is scheduled to finish there as well.
