The Watsonville Fly-In and Airshow
Antique and Vintage Airplanes
And Practically In Our Back Yard

Since its beginning, the Watsonville Fly-in has been on Memorial Day weekend...

...but on the Central Coast of California, that can often mean cool and foggy days.

Mornings and evenings when that fog would roll in, planes often had to stay on the ground. That's fun for getting a close-up look at some great and rare vintage airplanes, but we all love seeing them fly, don't we?

Here's hoping Labor Day weekend will let the Watsonville Fly-in get more antique airplanes in the air.

It's a three day event that now starts on the Friday before Labor Day and lasts through Sunday. For those of you outside of the USA, that's the first weekend of September.

It's been a major antique-airplanes event at the Watsonville airport since 1964. Through the years it's grown from a small, grass roots event to one of the largest fly-ins on the west coast.... In fact, it's become known primarily for a world-class exhibit of antique aircraft.

More than 300 classic and antique airplanes are on static display. Planes like this Travel Air 4000. How would you like to have been there the year they had the 1930s Air Racers Miss Los Angeles and Little Pete?

There are some vintage airplane rides available for purchase the day of the event and sometimes helicopter rides too. All the usual air show type food is available, and as is the usual contingent of aviation related commercial vendors.

The weather in California is generally better in September that it is at the end of May. We're hoping, along with the show organizers, that the weather will be better for good at this time of year... but remember, you are very close to Monterey Bay, so you can still expect some early morning and late afternoon fog to roll in. Rain is really unlikely in September, but the organizers say the Fly-In and Air Show will go on rain or shine.

We'll be moving our "annual" barbecue with our flying friends from Memorial Day to Labor Day. We love swapping flying stories and going to the fly-in. Check out some of the planes we saw during the 2009 Watsonville Fly-in.

Where is the Watsonville Fly-In?

Volunteer car traffic controllers will direct drivers on Airport Boulevard to the main auto entrance a half -mile east of the main terminal. Going east, you'll turn left into the auto parking gate; and going west, you'll be directed to turn right. Shuttles will be available to take you to the main gate.

Places to Stay

The fly-in offers a limited amount of camping spots for RVs. If you are participating in the fly-in, camping is permitted by your planes as well. A limited amount of aircraft camping space is available for non-participants.

See the website for the Watsonville Airshow and Fly-In for details. They post participants as they are confirmed each year. You can see the schedule and ticket prices there as well.

If you happen to be in Central California around Labor Day weekend, consider stopping by. Take a picture of your favorite airplane and tell us about it. We'll probably be there, but you can help us build this site... we'd like to hear what your favorites are!

Find 'em, See 'em, Fly,'em! And have a great flight!
  Judy and Mark