Seaplanes will return to Hammondsport

HAMMONDSPORT (9/14/2016)--The sky around Hammondsport will once again be filled with a variety of seaplanes for the 13th annual Seaplane Homecoming event Saturday, Sept. 17. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Depot Park, where attendees will be able to watch the seaplanes land and take off, as well as speak with their pilots.
The Seaplane Homecoming is free and open to the public. Again for this year, one of the highlights will be when visiting pilots take part in a "salute to Glenn Curtiss" seaplane parade around Keuka Lake at about 2 p.m. The pilots will fly, extending their southern loop directly over the Curtiss gravesite in the Pleasant Valley Cemetery. Also at the park will be award-winning barbecue, craft beer and local wines.
This event is put on by the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, which is located along Route 54 south of Hammondsport. It honors Curtiss, who was a pioneer of aviation technology. According to the museum's website, he mastered the technology associated with taking off and landing an aircraft on water in 1911, thereby making the seaplane and later, the flying boat, a reality. Seaplane development led Curtiss to an association with the U.S. Navy that began when he trained their first pilots and built the "A-1," their first aircraft. Today, he is acknowledged as "The Father of Naval Aviation."
The event will also feature a Seaplane Homecoming Banquet starting with a happy hour at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. This year, the banquet is being catered by the Pleasant Valley Inn.
The guest speaker for the evening is author William T. Coleman, who wrote the book "Floatplane Odyssey," which is the real story behind Tom Casey's historic record flight around the world, in a Cessna 206 on floats, landing only on water.
The cost is $35 per person. Contact Karen Trepes at 607-569-7054 to register for the banquet. For more, visit http://www.glennhcurtismuseum.org.
New this year will be the first annual Hammondsport Classic & Exotic Car Show being held the day after the Seaplane Homecoming. Taking place Sunday Sept. 18 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the event is sponsored by and located at the new Best Western Plus Hotel on Route 54 in Hammondsport. The event will feature a variety of classic cars and give attendees an opportunity to speak with their drivers. The event is free and open to the public. For more, call the hotel at 607-224-4120.