Old Threshers Reunion

It's getting late in the summer, the weather is still good for flying, and Oshkosh has passed. Where could you fly not too far from Texas to see something really interesting? 

The answer is, "Iowa." You say, "Iowa?"  Yes, indeed. There is a most impressive event over the Labor Day weekend: The Old Threshers Reunion in Mt. Pleasant, IA. There you will see

-- Huge steam tractors  of the early 20th century including a Case 110 hp steam tractor that is truly intimidating.

110hp Case Steam Tractor

 -- Small stationary steam and early combustion engines of that period.

-- Large stationary steam engines of that time, for power generation and refrigeration via ammonia compressors. Some of the equipment was  used into the 1980s, in particular the efficient and elegant "Corliss" steam engine.
  

-- Large early diesel engines for power generation.
  

-- Early locomotives pulling vintage  passenger cars on a two-mile loop.
  

-- An electric  trolley system on a three-mile loop with five old trolley cars from various parts of the US. One of the cars was built in the US, shipped to Milan, Italy, for decades of service, and recently returned the US. It still has the Italian signs. For example, ``Non Sputare''. You are supposed to figure out those signs during the trip.
  

-- Antique cars, some really special. For example, a 1930 Franklin with air-cooled 6-cylinder in-line engine. Only five were ever built. One of the cars was owned by Charles Lindbergh.

1930 Franklin

What makes the event so unusual is that everything, and I mean everything, is operated on that weekend. More than a thousand volunteers run the tractors and trains and trolleys and cars, plus a multitude of demonstration equipment. They love to talk with you and explain everything.

There is more. With the trolley cars, running at five minute intervals, you reach the Log Village, a picturesque setting of Iowa's second-oldest one-room school house and several early log buildings where folks in vintage costumes demonstrate crafts of yore. An old-style snake-oil medicine salesman delivers a  comedy and magic routine that has the audience roaring. A small band plays country music.
 
Throughout the day there are numerous programs. Not to be missed is the Power Cavalcade at noon, where all tractors and antique cars pass before the grandstand.

Power Cavalcade

Then there are various demonstrations of the uses of steam power, including an old-style saw mill and veneer peeling machine.

 
At 9 pm, several of the huge steam tractors use their belt drives to run big wind vanes at full power. The noise of the hammering engines is deafening. Together with wood logs, sawdust is poured into the fireboxes of the tractors. 

The sawdust ignites almost instantly and is blown out the chimney in a storm of sparks like a fireworks display. For good reason this is called the Traction Steam Spark Show.

Traction Steam Spark Show

You may wonder whether airplanes come into the story. Yes, they do. At intervals antique planes, sometimes in formation, overfly the grounds.
 
Admission is cheap, and a variety of foods are offered at reasonable cost.
 
How to get there, and where to stay: Mt. Pleasant is in Eastern Iowa 70 miles south of Cedar Rapids, IA. Its airport has a 5,000 ft paved runway and a 2,000 ft grass strip. It is easily reached in a two-leg flight from Dallas. In an RV, it would take maybe 4-5 hrs total. For our slow Zenith 601HDS, it requires more time, or much more when we cruise leisurely.

 
More on this in a moment. Mt. Pleasant and the surrounding area have plenty of hotels, and the grounds include acres for camping.
 
When my son Martin and I flew there this year, we turned the trip from Texas to Iowa into an all-day affair. A huge high pressure system dominated the Central US. We started shortly after sunrise from Aero Country, flew the entire trip with the engine throttled back, and against a modest headwind did 80 kts ground speed.

 
We began the trip flying 1,000 ft  AGL. As the surface warmed later in the morning and thermals came up, we gradually increased altitude, reaching 5,500 MSL around noon to stay in smooth air just above a boundary layer.

 
We took a detour via Newton, IA, which lies just east of Des Moines, IA. The smiling FBO remembered us and, without any request by us, offered the keys for the courtesy car. She even remembered why we would need the car: To drive to the Maytag Dairy Farm for purchase of 4 lbs of their famous blue cheese. By the way, you could stop there when returning from Oshkosh next time and get some of that famous cheese.

With the precious cheese on board, a slow and short hop along Interstate 80 East, at 1,000 ft AGL in smooth late-afternoon air, brought us to the picturesque airport of Marion, IA, where we got a hangar space. 

The Marion airport is a convenient stop for Oshkosh trips. The FBO offers autogas besides 100LL, a nice feature for Rotax pilots.

Marion is next to Cedar Rapids, IA, where we stayed with family. For that day, we were a total of 8.5 hrs in the air, for us a near-record of slowness. The next day, we went by car to Mt. Pleasant for the Old Threshers Reunion and spent all day and the late evening there. A few days later we returned to Texas, this time requiring 6.5 hrs of flying time due to a tailwind.
 
As we talked with several  folks in Mt. Pleasant, we sensed a different life style. A life  not sped up by interrupting cell phone rings, calls, text messaging, and
other modern improvements that drive us ever faster forward. A life where people savor the moment, focus on what they see and do, and connect with other people. We joined them.

 
The weekend reminded me of the old saying: "Don't hurry, don't worry. It's a short trip. Take time to smell the flowers."