Gathering of Eagles at Watts Bridge

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Posted 2014-07-17 by Eden ⇒ follow

Sat 30 Aug 2014

Well if it flies, you may well see it at Watts Bridge Memorial Airfield near Toogoolawah in South East Queensland**.

Watts Bridge is well known for its various events throughout the year, its All In Fly In, Festival of Flight, Fun Fly Poker Run and the Gathering of Eagles set for August 30 this year.

If the Gathering of Eagles this year is anything like the regular run of events at Watts Bridge, you will see aircraft of every description on the ground and in the air.

Completing the Watts Bridge fly in schedule for 2014 and building on the success of last year's event the gathering promises to bring together aviators of all persuasions in celebration of the freedom of flight.

Anticipate seeing anything from vintage aircraft and warbirds to general aviation and light sports aircraft. It will be a great event from air and land, if the last one I attended at Watts Bridge is anything to go by.

This year's Gathering of the Eagles is working towards next year's proposed two-day event to celebrate the centenary of Anzac, and has introduced a military re-enactment, with even more military ground vehicles in the line up of vintage, veteran and custom vehicles sure to impress locals and visitors alike.

Flying in for a past All In Fly In, we could see a huge number of aircraft on the ground of every sized and type, their pilots having taken advantage of the excellent weather conditions to land early, giving plenty of time to catch up with mates and meet new ones, and providing the huge number of landlubbers opportunity to get up close and personal to all sorts of aircraft.

Coming in on final approach there were another several aircraft behind us, so we wasted no time taxiing towards plane parking. Club members are always on hand, marshalling parking like clockwork, which is great, and its not long before the line we had parked in was full to the paddock fence.

I gave up counting the number and started to pay more attention to the type of aircraft, as there were some real gems on display.

The jet pulled out to the field behind the Jaguar caught most onlookers attention, but then the Morava was opened up, and this one had to be seen to be believed. The engine bays were absolutely pristine, the restoration immaculate, certain to be a higher standard than original manufacture would have been.
"Meet the Fokkers" display was impressive, with various stages of construction in several aircraft was most interesting.

Food in abundance, pedal cars for the kids, and always Trial Introductory Flights for visitors wanting to experience the joy of flying themselves. Helicopters joined the event, including an ex-military Kiowa. The weather was glorious, the crowd seemed happy, and as always Watts Bridge lived up to its reputation of putting on a good day.

The Gathering of the Eagles will be no different, though you never know what aircraft will be there on the day, some here may not be, though it's likely there will be a few that have never been before.

Watts Bridge Airfield was rediscovered by a group of dedicated recreational pilots during the early 1980s with overgrown runways using by grazing cattle, the enormous potential of this was recognised and work began to reclaim he runways and taxiways to return it to the flying standard it was originally built for.

By 1990 the airfield had once more two grass runways restored to excellent and fully operational condition, the site recognised for it's significant historical importance was formally renamed as 'Watts Bridge Memorial Airfield', with the only amenities on the field at the time to 'thunder boxes'.

Before long a management committee commenced creating a development plan placing great emphasis on recreational aviation activities, ensuring open and affordable access for all aviators.

The airfield offers 'airpark' style development encouraging private and commercial investment, with a wide range of general facilities, services and amenities, including hangarage sites, chalet sites with attached dwellings,and club house sites for home base aviation interest groups, as well as caravan and camping sites.