The West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In won’t land in Lompoc as planned in July due to the coronavirus health emergency.
The gathering of the distinctive yellow planes had been planned for July 10-12 at Lompoc Airport.
The vintage aircraft—most covered with colorful yellow paint—date back to World War II, with approximately 100 typically attracted to the Lompoc gathering.
“With regret we are announcing the cancellation of this year’s 36th Annual West Coast Cub Fly-In 2020. The unfavorable situation of planning any large event for the coming months has been foremost on our minds,” organizers said in a Facebook post.
“This week we saw two major indicators of advisable direction, one from a national event and one locally.”
A large international aviation event held in Wisconsin in late July, AirVenture Oshkosh 2020, announced its cancellation, as did the Lompoc Valley Flower Festival, planned for late June.
“Since AirVenture lands one week behind our annual West Coast Cub Fly-in, it makes sense to follow their lead,” Cub Fly-In organizers said.
Lompoc event planners noted a May 1 statement by Jack Pelton, Experimental Aircraft Association chief executive officer and chairman of the board, spelling out logistical and other reasons for the delay.
“My conclusion is, like in any good flight planning, don’t take the risk,” Pelton said. “Therefore, I have no choice but to cancel AirVenture 2020. Together, we can come back stronger, safer and ready for AirVenture 2021 and create a memorable world-class aviation event.”
Although the Lompoc event involves “a small fraction of the size and scope of AirVenture,” reasons supporting cancellation still apply, Cub Fly-In organizers said.
Likewise, the Flower Festival has been a staple in Lompoc for generations, but has been forced to take a year off due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our ability to anticipate and meet changing health guidelines is limited, and it would be a gamble to depend on the city to meet the event’s health and safety needs,” Cub Fly-In organizers said.
They hope the event will return in 2021.
Not everyone accepted the cancellation. One local resident said, “It’s going on, just not in any official capacity.”
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.