Hangars and Hot Rods – Flyin’ Low in North Carolina
I’ve been to my fair share of car shows and cruise-ins over the years, but this was the first time my destination came with latitude/longitude coordinates. Why you might ask? Secret local? Nope, it’s an old turf air strip and coordinates are much more useful when you’re airborne. Ben Haag is one of those lucky hot rod guys whose shop is also an aircraft hangar – every car guy’s dream setup.
Seeing that he is surrounded by hot rods and vintage airplanes all day, he was bound to come up with the idea of Hangers & Hot Rods. Basically, it’s a Fly-in/Cruise-in with overnight camping for both. While I didn’t have the chance to spend the weekend there, I did spend most of my Saturday watching Piper’s and Cessna’s fly in and out of the grass air field. Unfortunately, mother nature didn’t pin that date on her calendar, letting too many small storms roll through the area, limiting the large number of planes Ben had lined up for this event.
That didn’t stop us car guys from holding up our part of the cruise-in. We were given prime parking between the air strip and hanger, which came in handy during those rain events. Seeing vintage planes parked behind equally vintage hot rods and customs really helped set the right atmosphere for this event.
During sporadic rain storms I took the time to check out the hot rods that Ben has been working on. In the middle of a row of 32’ Ford sits two 3 Windows, both belonging to Ben. One is being built from the ashes of another known as #palerider. A coupe that lived life to the fullest but met its end too soon. Looks like the second coming is moving right along.
The other side of the Hangar was lined up with RC planes. These things were detailed so well you might have a hard time telling what’s full size or scale in the photos. There were even a couple different scale versions of the full size Piper Cubs sitting across the airfield.
Despite the rain it was a great event, Ben and his crew did an excellent job hosting, cooking and keeping the action going all day with planes flying around offering such a cool atmosphere. I hope another one will be scheduled next year, or why wait till then?
