Gleaming metal “birds” of various feather will flock together at the Port of Orcas next weekend, July 30 – August 1 for the 26th annual Orcas Fly In. It’s a time for pilots and friends to throttle back and set their wheels down easy: bogeys and bandits are not invited, and the area’s most notorious airplane thief is safely behind bars.

The weekend is a meeting of old friends and new.

“It’s a wonderful time because a lot of friends the pilots have fly in for this, which makes it a lot of fun for the local people,” said organizing pilot Dwight Guss. Since 1984, “the Orcas fly in… has provided a friendly, down-home, country fly in for aviation enthusiasts across the Pacific Northwest and Canada,” he said. “By pilot reports, it is one of the most popular fly-ins in the region.”

Many pilots camp at the airport near their planes during the weekend. The Eastsound Fire Station across the street offers a pancake breakfast from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., with sausages, eggs, coffee and orange juice.

Food will be available for sale from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Guests can purchase fly in t-shirts and sweatshirts designed by local artist Frank Loudin, who will also have art for sale.

Traditionally held the first weekend in August, the fly in is hosted by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 937 Orcas, which promotes aviation through programs like the Young Eagles and the annual fly-in.

Guss said aircraft for view usually include warbirds, experimental aircraft, old fashioned airplanes and seaplanes.

This year a replica of a 1927 Fairchild hand-built by Orcas islander Bill Worman will be on display, and local Pole Pass Airways will display their 1929 Travel Air, which has been in continuous service from 1929 to the present.

Airlift Northwest will display one of their helicopters on Saturday. Visitors can chat with crew or enroll in the emergency medical flight service.

Roughly 100 aircraft attend each year, and 123 airplanes swooped in during the biggest year Dwight can remember, around 2006.

Guests can be on the lookout for biplanes, “tigers”, “mustangs”, “warthogs” and more; it’s always a surprise who will show up.

“(Attendance) all depends on the weather,” said Guss.

Pilots and airplane-lovers alike are hoping for a CAVU day: Ceiling And Visibility Unlimited, the best possible weather for flying.

For more information or to volunteer, call Dwight Guss at 317-5970.