The Shadow
Numerous cars and planes were on display Saturday at the seventh annual Wings and Wheels Air and Car Show, held at Ingalls Field in Bath County. Organizers estimate a crowd of approximately 5,000 attended the popular event. Wings and Wheels is sponsored by the Bath County Airport Authority, the Bath County Office of Tourism and Economic Development, Bath County Parks and Recreation and the Bath County Chamber of Commerce. (Gavin Dressler Photo)
Numerous cars and planes were on display Saturday at the seventh annual Wings and Wheels Air and Car Show, held at Ingalls Field in Bath County. Organizers estimate a crowd of approximately 5,000 attended the popular event. Wings and Wheels is sponsored by the Bath County Airport Authority, the Bath County Office of Tourism and Economic Development, Bath County Parks and Recreation and the Bath County Chamber of Commerce. (Gavin Dressler Photo)
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HOT SPRINGS — By all accounts, the seventh annual Wings and Wheels Air and Car Show was a roaring success.
With planes, trains — yes, there was a train — and automobiles, this year’s event went off without a hitch and with plenty of sunshine to spare.
“We welcomed close to 5,000 guests to Wings and Wheels this year,” explained Maggie Anderson, director of tourism and economic development for the County of Bath and one of the event organizers, “We are very gratified to see so many folks turn out for our event.”
Indeed. Attendees came from all over Virginia, with one car show entrant who journeying 252 miles, all the way from Kannapolis, N.C., to enter the show.
“I think this was one of the best air shows on record,” noted Becky Skid-more, Ingalls Field airport manager. “Included in the air show lineup was Keith Davis performing in a Pitts Bi-plane, Skipper Hall in an AT-6 trainer aircraft, as well as a Pitts Bi-Plane, Jim Kilpatrick, brought his North Carolina Warbirds and Tony Royal wowed the crowd in his L-29 Jet.”
Team Fastrax, a precision parachute team and fan favorite, returned again this year and opened the show with their inspiring flag jump.
The air show was preceded by the presentation of the colors by the Color Guard of the Rockbridge Patriots Detachment 1351 Marine Corps League, out of Lexington, accompanied by the Bath County High School band under the direction of Melinda Hooker. The band played both the Star Spangled Banner and America the Beautiful.
The car show this year was also the best attended with over 115 entries.
Entries included cars, trucks, motorcycles and tractors and each entrant was eligible to win several prizes including People’s Choice Awards.
A new addition to the event this year was a “Pros’ Pick” sponsored by Wayne Anderson of Anderson Motorsports and Fred Graefe, F&F Speedshop (Whitehall, Md.) a 15 time NSRA Top U.S. Showcase Builder.
Prizes were awarded at 3:30 p.m. Saturday during which time the following winners were announced:
Rick McLaughlin won People’s Choice for Best Car and Best Paint with a 1968 Camaro.
People’s Choice Dicky Engelman, in a 2-tone green 1957 Chevy, won People’s Choice Best Car and was one of the five Pro’s Picks of the day.
Mike Bowen won People’s Choice Best Truck and Pro’s Pick for a 1963 Chevy Pick-up; Robert Neikirk won People’s Choice for Best Motorcycle; Lee Fry won People’s Choice for Best Tractor and also won People’s Choice for Best in Show, bringing in the highest number of votes for a single entry.
Finishing out the awards were Pro’s Pick’s George Link with a 1936 red panel truck, Larry West with a 1937 Ford Coupe and William Earhart, with a 1948 Divco UM8 Milk Truck.
The event kicked off with a two-hour performance by the very popular “Travlin’ Hillbillies,” a southern rock (with hints of bluegrass) rock and roll, folk, blues and country band based out of Harrisonburg.
Prior to performing, Team Fastrax offered tandem parachute rides to brave thrill seekers and plane rides were available as well.
“Big Country Amusements brought family-friendly carnival rides to the event,” noted Celine Pritt, Bath County tourism coordinator and event organizer, “We had a mechanical bull, a whirly bird ride, a rock climbing wall, a variety of bounce houses a bungee jumper, and a train.”
Other events included a thrilling performance by popular motorcycle stunt team High Rollerz.
“We had several challenges this year, including a field in which we normally park cars that would not dry due to the excessive rain the region had experienced, explained Emily Plecker, Bath County Chamber of Commerce executive director and event organizer. “But with a little bit of re-arranging and a lot of patience and understanding on the part of both participants and attendees, it all worked out. We are delighted by the response we received throughout the day.”
The single price of admission included the car show, air show, amusements parks rides and access to all the food and craft vendors.
“This was definitely the perfect way to spend a day with your family, high atop Hot Springs surrounded by breathtaking views and the highest private-use airport east of the Mississippi,” concluded Skidmore.
And organizers agree. Wings and Wheels 2015 was definitely an event for the record books.
