Pancakes and Old Warbirds Fly for Father’s Day

REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI)- Nearly a couple thousand people gathered at the Legacy Flight Museum for a celebration of Father's Day. The Celebration included a free pancake breakfast and an air show from the many different old warbirds the Museum displays.

"It's a great time to bring your dads out and we get to play with the airplanes and show them off and get a free pancake breakfast," said Shawn Bagley the museum's flight instructor.

Bagley adds that the breakfast and the air show can bridge the gaps between the different generations of fathers and their kids. "I get to be that bridge between, you know, the old guys who used to fly them when these things were actually being used back in World War Two, Vietnam, and Korea, and the new generation."

He added with all of the planes working and flyable, that the bridge is solidified by the sights and sounds of the different planes. "You've got younger kids that, you know, they get to see and hear the things that Grandpa saw and did, and he's getting to share his history with the kids. And that's what it's about."

The sights and sounds of the air show along with the pancake breakfast connected many different fathers with their kids. Cameron Sales says they wanted to come to the breakfast and air show for the planes as they live near the Rexburg Airport. "Just seeing the joy in their eyes, just watching planes go around. It's fun"

He added that his favorite is the museum p-51 fighter plane from World War 2 dressed as the "Mormon Mustang", "I like the military ones. The Mormon Mustangs, the big one. They do have a big one that they usually bring out, too. So hopefully we'll see that one."

For him, the air show and the breakfast was perhaps the highlight of his Father's Day weekend.

A highlight that was shared by many of the dads in attendance.

"We've got other things planned, but this is going to be the top," said Steven Atkinson.

Atkinson added, that this was something that he was looking forward to as he hadn't quite had a chance to see the event yet. "We've been missing it. We missed it the last couple of years. We had places to be out of town. So this is the first year we've had a chance. And my little boy, he loves airplanes."

Another dad Zack Cleverley says his kids also lit up seeing the planes and hearing them fly by. "These guys love the planes. The little kids love planes. Sometimes they're a little loud, the big cool ones are a little loud, but they're a lot of fun to see."

Cleverly adds that it was fun to not only see the planes but the different members of the community show up as well. For him, the weekend started off with a bang. "This is a good way to start off the weekend."

Other dads came to the event to pass down their love for flight and the vehicles that can make it possible. "My father raised me on airplanes. He gave me a model P-51 when I was a kid, and I remember building it out. And so I knew they had some out here. And I really wanted to see them fly around. And I've seen the fly over my house, but never up close like this. So that, and we wanted to show our kids we got four kids that we wanted to show the airplanes to as well." said Josua Cluff.

Cluff added that even his youngest child is taken from the different planes doing formation fly-bys. "My one-year-old, I was surprised how excited she was by just, you know, making inaudible or unintelligible responses to the airplanes, She's sitting there pointing as they fly by so they really seemed to like it."

The third generation of Cluffs are being taken by airplanes.

Blake Shaw says he came to the air show with his family, as his father-in-law has a plane in the air show, and he says his kids love to not only see the plans and sometimes go on rides. "They love to get out and go in the warbirds and go out for rides."

Shaw adds that the air show and breakfast have become a bit of a family tradition, especially with a family plane in the show. "We tend to come out to the air show every year and then also the fly-in. We alternated with the car show."

All of the dads expressed gratitude for the breakfast and air show and said it was a fun day to be with their family.