Fly-In takes place in Greenville, September 6-9, with crowd-pleasing fly-by demonstrations and contests held throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday. Pilots will test their skills in a match of wits and experience through a series of take-offs, spot landings, accuracy “bomb” drops, taxi slaloms and fly-bys.

The Fly-In on Moosehead Lake is considered the longest-running seaplane fly-in in the world and has become an international tradition. Action begins at Stobie Air Hangar, located at the headquarters of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

In what began almost three decades ago as the answer to the call of the wild by a few bush pilots, the low-key weekend of trading stories and talking shop has turned into a sort of flying extravaganza where over 750 pilots are now expected to converge on both land and lake in this gateway town to the north woods.

On Friday, seminars will be offered to pilots by representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration. Throughout the weekend, Stobie Air Hangar will be turned into a display and exhibit area for the FAA, aircraft organizations, and flying clubs, where trade and safety information is exchanged by flying enthusiasts and professionals.

On Saturday and Sunday, Greenville opens up to the public for a weekend of skillful flying from pilots in an unusual array of planes. Today, the fly-bys have become a family affair, where mom, pop and the kids show up with lawn chairs and spread out on the grassy knolls overlooking the vast lake and mountains at East Cove to watch the pilots in action. In addition to eye-catching fly-bys and demonstrations, a craft fair and food vendors line the main street of town. Admission is free to spectators.

Throughout the weekend, bystanders will see many experimental aircraft, some of which are powered on nothing more than the equivalent of a snowmobile engine, to the seaplane workhorses of some of the best bush pilots in the world. For the interested observer, pilots will easily engage in some of the amazing stories surrounding their traditional or homebuilt flying machines.

Spectators may also be in store for some surprise visits, such as the landing by singing star Jimmy Buffet in his $1.7 million gleaming white Caravan or the now rare 1944 World War II Grumman Goose fighter plane. Capturing the attention of many of the pilots are the classic lines of the noble looking Widgeons that annually make the trip to Moosehead Lake. Still others are wowed by the seemingly improbable propulsion of the ultralights, which look more like gliding insects than actual planes. This year, Fly-In organizers also expect to see a fly-over by the locally owned DC3, the world's largest plane set on floats.

While fly-in has become a favorite among seaplane pilots, the annual event has also become a fun family outing, filled with the flair of some daring imagination, little known intriguing facts and lore, and some very pretty examples of well-known, as well as rare, aircraft.

For a schedule of events, visit the Fly-In Web site at www.seaplanefly-in.org.