Historic aircraft to descend on Quincy Regional Airport this weekend

QUINCY (WGEM) - Historians, aviators and aviation fans will have their eyes on the skies in Quincy this weekend.

Quincy Regional Airport will host its 2nd annual Stinson Summit, Thursday through Sunday.

Dozens of Stinson aircraft, their owners and enthusiasts from across the country are expected to travel to the Gem City for the event.

The event’s local coordinator gave WGEM’S Rajah Maples a bird’s eye view from the historic airplane to show Tri-State residents what sets it high above the rest.

Pilot, pilot instructor and Stinson Summit coordinator Randy Phillips owns a 1946 Stinson aircraft.

“The reason people are interested in Stinsons is because they’re an incredibly stable, very affordable and very sturdy aircraft,” Phillips said. “They’ve been around in some cases over 80 years.”

Phillips said there are only about 1,000 of them still registered to fly right now throughout the world.

You can find about 30 of those left this weekend at Quincy Regional Airport.

“A lot of the pilots who showed up to last year’s event were overjoyed with the facilities here at Quincy,” Phillips said. “The airport is a beautiful place. The town was wonderful. They had a great time here and they just really loved it and wanted to come back again.”

Stinson aircraft owners will descend on Quincy, including several models from the 1940s and 1930s.

The general public is invited to attend an open house Saturday night from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for a closer look at American history.

“We hope to get a lot of the public out here,” Phillips said. “It’s a family event. It’s something you can bring the whole family out and enjoy getting out and onto a place you don’t usually get to go out on the tarmac out there where the airplanes are.”

Stinson aircraft were considered the “Cadillac of Personal Aircraft” during the 1930s and ‘40s.

The company’s motto was “The Aircraft Standard of the World.”

This year’s Stinson Summit was made possible by the aircraft owners, International Stinson Club and a grant from Bet on Q in Quincy.

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