For the past 30 years Donald Duck, not the cartoon character, has hosted a “fly-in” on his Edwardsburg property.

The Duck family once again welcomed the roar of the aircraft engines for their annual picnic get together.
25 planes took to the sky for the Duck family annual Fly-In.

Donald Edward Duck started this get-together as a way for friends to meet up and share their love of flying.

“It’s not the airplanes that bring us together, it’s the people,” said Donald Edward Duck. “And that’s what it is here, the people and the friendship with the people. The airplanes help don’t get me wrong, but it’s the people we have met over the years.”
His son, also named Donald, says the sound of the planes going by has been his life.

“[He] took all three of us boys up flying when we were in my mother’s stomach so we can say we flew before we were born,” said Donald Scott Duck. “We were raised on this grass air strip. We were born to love aircraft and it just gets in your blood. And you just love flying.”

As pilots come in for a landing, the Duck’s says it’s fun to see who brings what each year.

“Like a car show you get to see every different types, you get to see everyone else’s toys,” said Donald Scott Duck.
Brett Schuck flies a 300 Staudacher.

He says it’s events like this can give children a way to follow their passion for flying, just like it did for him.

“I always wanted to learn how to fly since I was a kid but I just didn’t know how to go about it,” said Schuck.

Chuck Marshall says it’s also a chance to preserve the history that some of these World War 2 planes have.

“If you were a cadet in the Air Force and you wanted to become a pilot, this was the first airplane you learned to fly,” said Marshall. “We think we are custodians of these air crafts. It’s a challenge to get younger people involved in them.”

At the age of 82, Donald Edward Duck says putting on these shows is becoming too much of a challenge.

With the help of his son and volunteers, he hope others keep his passion from being grounded.

“It’d be nice to see another generation enjoy what we have enjoyed for years,” said Donald Scott Duck.

The Duck family announced they will have another show next year, but the long term future of the event is not certain and will be decided on a case by case basis in the years after that.

Source: WSBT