ALLEN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - The Allen County Airport saw dozens of aircraft flying in today for the big eclipse.
They were anticipating nearly 50 planes by the time of the eclipse, and they were coming in one after another this morning. Planes of all types were on the tarmac from all over the country. Several were from Michigan; others were from Virginia and Florida, all looking forward to the big moment.
"I mean, south was where we needed to go, so we figured flying in would keep us out of any traffic, and plus, an airport is a big, wide open space, so it seemed like a good option," explained Lars Carlson, who flew in from Jackson, Michigan.
"We wanted to experience the eclipse and do it, you know, flying with friends, so we thought this was the perfect way to do it," commented Paul Bedard, who flew in from Farmington Hills, Michigan.
"We tried to get the shortest distance. We could have gone to Idaho, or New Mexico, or somewhere, but this was pretty close, and I did Google with airports on cities I was familiar with, so it turned out that the Allen County Lima Airport had a solar eclipse event," stated Strother Scott, who flew in from Farmington Hills, Michigan.
"It's wonderful; great hospitality here. And we've all done our homework. We've been reading history lessons, I guess, from your chamber of commerce. My brother is very smart about these things," said Frederic Scott Jr., who flew in from Farmington Hills, Michigan.
The airport wasn't just for pilots today, as dozens of people came out to take advantage of the big open space and what could be their last chance to see a total eclipse.
"The next one is in 20 years, okay? So, that's, for me, that's getting a little far in between. We saw the one in 2017, loved to see it again, and keeping our fingers crossed for the weather," commented Frank Bower, who drove in from Maryland.
"We've outfitted it with a solar film to make it safe for a solar viewing, so now that we have that in there, we can look through the eyepiece and see the sun, which looks kind of like an orange ball, and then we can see some of the sunspots as well, which are spots of cooler temperature on the sun's surface," explained Mae Higgins, an astronomy graduate student.
Several hundred people were at the airport to view the eclipse.
