Red Oak Airport welcomes more than 100 guests to fly in picnic

The Red Oak Municipal Airport once again invited pilots from all over the country to its annual flight picnic on Sept. 1.
The annual event is held in conjunction with the Blakesburg Annual Fly-In held in Blakesburg, Iowa each year during the Labor Day weekend. Attendees were able to check out the antique and classic airplanes on display around the airport terminal during the event and enjoy a meal and entertainment provided by airport staff.
This year, 43 planes were flown into the Red Oak Airport, and food, drink, and entertainment was provided to roughly 125 attendees. Among the guests at this year’s airport picnic was pilot Hannah Schickles, who leads an aviation museum in Brodhead, Wisc.
“I’m the museum curator of the Kelch Aviation Museum in Brodhead. I do not come from a flying background. I knew nothing about airplanes, I didn’t even have a general interest in airplanes until I started volunteering at the Kelsch Museum even before it was a museum, starting in 2019,” said Shickles. “It was there that I got my first ride in a Curtiss-Wright Travel Air 12W biplane from 1932. That’s when I knew. I was like, ‘I’m hooked, I’m doing this forever.’”
Ironically, Shickles said that it was purely by chance that she ended up at Kelch, as it was a school-related assignment.
“As part of a senior project, I had to go and volunteer there. It wasn’t even at my own free will, it was a situation where I had to do this to graduate. I’m so glad it happened. Ami Eckard-Lee, the collections manager, who was interviewed last year was there when I was volunteering. Pat Weeden, the museum’s executive director was also there, and they kind of gave me a tour of the whole facility,” commented Shickles.
Shickles admitted that when then they hired her, she knew nothing about airplanes, but her writing talent was noted.
“They needed someone to write all the displays and archive books and  I thought to do that, they would need someone that kind of knows the language, and that was not me. Pat however, thought I was the perfect choice, as he felt I could write things in a way that people that aren’t in aviation can understand,” Shickles stated. “So that’s how it began. I started as the archivist, and then the events coordinator, and now I’m the events coordinator and the museum curator.”
Also, while she knew nothing about planes when she started there, Shickles quickly caught up.
“I got my pilot’s license about 10 months after I started working there. I have a degree in aviation management from the University of Dubuque. I work at an aviation safety company that does auditing and other things, so my official title is aviation safety management specialist for the company Aviation Safety Solutions, in addition to working at Kelch,” Shickles said.
To come to the Red Oak Airport, Shickles flew in a yellow Piper J-3 Cub which was built in 1946.
“This aircraft is actually a part of the Kelch Museum, it is not owned by any person. I’m currently 24 years old, and so I fly this place to events like this just to kind of represent young people in aviation flying antiques. I’m trying to bring it alive,” Shickles stated. “We often refer to this plane as the Frank Baker Cub because a guy named Frank Baker found it in a barn in non-flyable condition. In the 60s, he restored it, and then he flew the pants off this thing. He flew it to Denver multiple times. He flew it coast to coast multiple times. He had about 75,000 flying miles on this airplane.”
With all that extensive flying time, Shickles said the plane was once again restored less than 10 years ago.
“It was restored in 2017 by the Johnson Brothers in Long Rock. The gentleman who paid for that restoration, his name’s Dan Uminski of Waunakee, Wisc., and he donated this airplane to the museum in January, so that’s kind of how this all kind of came about.”
While she doesn’t own an aircraft personally yet, Shickles said she would be happy if that could become a reality.
“I do not own any airplanes right now, but I’d love to own an airplane at some point. It would be so much fun to have the freedom to get to do and fly whenever I want. I do get a lot of freedoms with the airplanes at Kelch, but in the back of your mind, you’re remembering that it isn’t your airplane and you have to be careful not to even put a scratch on it,” Shickles said. “If I could pick my own, it might be a Stinson. I’ve never flown one, so I don’t know what the flight characteristics are. But I would say right now that would be the airplane, and maybe it’s just because I’ve never been in one. I do think they’re darn cute.”
Before arriving in Red Oak, Shickles said she took the plane to Hastings, Neb.
“That took 9.4 hours in this airplane one-way, so it took two days and I was going very slow. It was 433 nautical miles for me, and I did it completely solo. My mom was my ground crew on the way out to Nebraska, which was really nice.”
Shickles said she loves flying the Piper Cub, as it has a look that makes it quite familiar to people.
“It’s a very iconic airplane for aviation. A lot of people that are in aviation don’t recognize a lot of these other airplanes, but a lot of people do recognize the Piper Cub because it’s so iconic. I think it builds with the symbolism of a young person flying an iconic vintage airplane, which is cool for people to see,” commented Shickles.
Shickles said she became familiar with the Red Oak Airport picnic through Red Oak’s Amanda Hill.
“Amanda and Chad Hill, I met them when I flew a 1938 Aeronca Chief to LeSueur, Minn. for its fly-in. It’s called First Ditch because it’s the first fly-in of the season. I was 19, I flew there all alone, and I didn’t really know a whole lot of people very well. And I had everything packed up in the airplane, so I couldn’t bring much. And they took me in,” Shickles stated. “I was parked right next to them, and they took me in like I was their own family. They were just really good people. So they had been working on me to get out here for a couple of years, and now I’m finally out here.”
While she had fueled up at the Red Oak Airport on her flight to Hastings, Shickles said this was her first time attending the picnic.
“The airport genuinely lives up to its reputation. There’s so many kind people here just willing to help, and it’s so cool to hear all of the stories of all of these different pilots. And, you know, aviation’s not a straight path for a lot of people. There’s a lot of things that you need, lots of hoops to jump through, and it’s very different for each individual. So to get to kind of hear other people’s experiences and also just hear people be passionate about general aviation is very reassuring as a young person. I’m one of the young people here. That’s not common, especially among the antique crowd. So it’s reassuring to just kind of hear the motivation to keep these things flying, because we don’t want this to die out. We want to keep vintage aviation going.”
In addition to this being her first time to Red Oak, Shickles said she’s also going to Blakesburg for the first time.
“Everyone’s kind of telling me what to expect. I’ve heard it’s a massive event. After that, I’ll fly back on to Broadhead for its Grassroots Fly-In, which will take place Sept. 10-13,” Shickles said.
Shickles expressed her appreciation to all the people who have contributed to her flying skill set and allowed her to learn to fly.
“It’s amazing to have the privilege to fly something like this, and then to share it. Flying little kids around in this airplane gives me goosebumps, because it’s just so rewarding to get to share someone’s first ride or take them up and show them the sights. For anyone that is interested in learning to fly, you just have to start,” commented Shickles. “Maybe that’s getting your first discovery flight or signing up for ground school or even going to your local airport. You’d be surprised if you just show up one day and say, hey, I’m interested in learning how to fly, how many people will reach out and help you and point you in the right direction.”
Also, Shickles said it’s never too late to start, and you’re never too old to take up flying.
“I never thought that I could be a pilot because that wasn’t in my plans. And then one day I kind of woke myself out of that and I thought, well, you could do this, you know. I took night classes there for ground school. While I was going to school full-time, I was getting my associates in college, and then I worked part-time at the museum during that as well. And then I was flying on the weekends,” Shickles stated. “Finances can a barrier for aviation. For me personally, my flight instructor had a pair of wings that he needed recovered. All these vintage airplanes, they are fabric. I had picked up the skill of fabric at Broadhead. I had learned how to cover tail surfaces, and he asked me if I would recover his wings and trade for lessons. So that’s how I ended up financing my private pilot’s license, was trading a skill set for a skill set. Also, there’s a bunch of scholarships for people that want to get interested, too. For people of all ages, if you join a group, there is money, and people don’t apply for these scholarships a lot of the time. I encourage them to do so,” Shickles said.
All told, 43 planes flew in for the annual picnic, including pilots from England, and in addition to Shickles, more than 125 people joined in the food and fun. The annual event is put on by volunteers Chad and Amanda Hill and Nick and Diane Hildreth.