By Audrey Seilheimer
At Thrall Lake in Vicksburg you’ll find an expansive property with an airstrip off Studebaker Lane at W Avenue. Last month it was host to a unique weekend event for aviation and paramotor enthusiasts and local pilots.
Manny Chauhan organized the event with Alexis Quintana and partners from Leading Edge PPG, an aviation training school with services in Three Rivers and Schoolcraft.
“I was just hooked on the experience once I flew and I saw what it could do for the community, getting veterans in the air or coming together as pilots,” Chauhan said of organizing this inaugural event, a fundraiser for Vicksburg’s VFW Post 5189.
Quintana’s company specializes in local paramotor aviation training at all skill levels. Paramotor flying is considered a quick, less expensive power aviation option and route to get yourself flying over treetops for those with the guts and the interest in flying.
Drivers heading down W Avenue east of the Village of Vicksburg and as far west as the farthest corners of Schoolcraft have spotted these types of contraptions motoring and buzzing with seated pilots, seeming to cut through the air. They may remind some of an early DaVinci drawing or a giant fan as a backpack on a person steering a parachute thru the sky.
“Next year we’d like to make it even bigger and try and (sync up) with the Old Car Festival event crowd,” Chauhan said. Plans have already begun for the 2025 event next August. Updates will be posted at Vicksburgflyin.com
Vicksburg residents Kevin Toll and his son Randy flew in in their yellow Cub and were looking forward to spending the day sharing with other local pilots, veterans and flying enthusiasts while talking all things flying.
Jess Hanstein worked the registration table and pinned tiny straight pins into a map at the check-in table to indicate where pilots had flown in from as they collected their T-shirts, commemorative event stickers and raffle tickets. Besides a full camp-out area for overnight participants, an air show, food trucks, inflatables, live music and a variety of raffle prizes were available when folks weren’t touring each other’s planes or taking paramotor flights.
The event was also open to the general public to enjoy and experience in a festival-style atmosphere. Participation was $5 an entry and merchandise was also sold at the event.
Vicksburg resident and veteran, Walter Dorey, sat at the gate of the event, directing people as they pulled in their campers, cars and planes.
He said it was a great day in the sunshine and the support of the VFW is appreciated.
Event organizer Manny Chauhan said $5,000 was raised for the VFW to support its post and programming.
