Memorial Day weekend weather proved perfect for Black Pilots of America's fly-in to Pine Bluff Regional Airport-Grider Field. It was the 26th year of "Operation Skyhook" returning to members' adopted home. The annual three-day event hosts aviators from 18 chapters of BPA.
Local host, the Arkansas Thunderbirds chapter member and Aviation Commission Chairman Ken Johnson, said, "When I invited BPA to come here back in 1996, I had no idea it would escalate into the event it has become today. I thought they'd maybe come once and then move on to somewhere else. I'm very glad they chose Pine Bluff as their home base and hope they will return for many years to come."
Johnson added, "It has been a record-setting return with over 30 single- and twin-engine aircraft flying in from California, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, New York and New Jersey. The camaraderie and good-spirited competition between this diverse group of fliers is always a great time for everyone. We all get a big kick out of introducing kids to flight."
Referencing the Thunderbirds, he said, "Our local chapter is a combination of 22 Arkansas and Mississippi members who host this event each year and meet at Grider Field every other month."
Airport manager Doug Hale said about this year's convocation, "We have perfect weather with 32 planes turned out as well as numerous other BPA members who flew commercial or drove in to be a part of the occasion."
Friday competitions included the flour bomb drop. Pilots in aircraft of every variety tested their skills against one another by dropping a small bag of flour out the aircraft window and landing it as near to a 10-by-10-foot designated ground target as possible. Flyover attempts are made from no lower than 200-feet elevation. Friday evening wrapped up with a fish fry for visiting aviators.
Saturday's competition consisted of aerial pylon races. New Orleans native and retired U.S. Army Colonel Palmer Sullins Jr. explained that the pilots take off to the north and turn left going toward the south end of the airfield. From that southerly direction, they turn north paralleling the runway to approach the race's starting point.
"The clock starts as they approach the first pylon," Sullins said. "They then make three passes around a triangular course flying at top speed the entire way. There are ground-based judges at each of the three pylons to make sure pilots don't cut inside their turns."
There are four separate categories of competition based on varying aircraft performance and achievable speeds, with two planes in the air at a time.
Echoing the sentiments of fellow members, Sullins added, "It's always great to come back to the home of Black Pilots of America here in Pine Bluff!"
Saturday evening included a barbecue cookout at Martin Luther King Jr. Park.
Sunday proved one of the more exciting days for spectators with the spot landing and balloon bursting competitions. Spot landings challenge aviators to touch down their aircraft as near to a designated point on the runway as they can manage, while balloon bursting consists of pilots flying their prop through a rapidly rising helium-filled balloon released from the ground.
A beloved longtime mainstay of "Operation Skyhook" and founding BPA member, retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. John W. "The Hawk" Hicks Jr. from Tuskegee, Ala., had passed away since last year. Reflecting three generations of fliers in the family, Atlanta BPA member Audrey Hodge said of her father, "He was my best friend and always called me 'Partner.' I was his first passenger when he got his pilot's license in '68 and he was my first passenger when I got mine in 1985." Accompanied by her dad, Hodge has been flying for 52 years since she was 6 years old. She said, "My 22-year-old daughter Alicia has all her flight hours at this point and only lacks her written exam and checkout ride to get her pilot's license.
"I took Dad on his last night flight on March 4, 2023. We took off near sunset and flew from Tuskegee to Bainbridge, Ga., and back, landing after dark," Hodge said.
Over the three-day event, BPA continued their longstanding tradition of introducing youth to aviation. Following the competitions each afternoon, better than 100 youth, some returning on multiple days, were treated to free flights. BPA pilots volunteered their aircraft and skills to carry young people up as part of the "Young Eagles" program sponsored by the Experimental Aircraft Association. Upon returning to the terminal, each child received a handsome "Young Eagles" certificate for framing.
Beginning at 7 p.m. Sunday, the three-day weekend culminated with an awards banquet at the Pine Bluff Convention Center, where the flying skills of local and visiting pilots were recognized with award presentations. As part of the gala affair, Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington and Houston resident BPA Committee Chairman Fred Lewis conducted Hall of Fame inductions.
A guest of the Black Pilots of America, Matt Anderson, Razorback wing of the Commemorative Air Force member, introduced 26 youth and their parents to his 1942 vintage WWII Stinson L-5 Sentinel scout plane. (Special to The Commercial/Richard Ledbetter)