Construction cancels Lions Fly-in Pancake Breakfast at the airport this summer

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

For the second year there will be no summer Lion’s Club Fly-In Pancake Breakfast at the Charles City airport.

Last year it was COVID. This year it’s construction.

The North Cedar Aviation Authority, which operates the Northeast Iowa Regional Airport, voted Wednesday to reluctantly turn down a request from the Lion’s Club to host the annual pancake breakfast this summer, because of construction on Highway 18 that provides access to the airport, and because of a large construction project at the airport itself to replace the main taxiway.

Aviation authority board member Carl “Kip” Hauser, a Lion himself, brought the club’s request to the board, asking permission to hold the event June 27.

“I have some concerns,” said Bill Kyle, the airport manager. “We aren’t going to be able to get airplanes clear of the runway for people landing. We have no taxiway to use and everything’s going to have to back-taxi,” he said, referring to planes having to travel on the ground opposite the way they landed to get to the airport apron.

“I’m very concerned about an accident,” Kyle said.

The airport has just started a $3 million project to rip out the existing taxiway and replace it with one that is located farther away from the main runway. The project will replace a taxiway that is in deteriorating condition and also address safety concerns that the Federal Aviation Administration has.

While it is expected that the airport will be closed to air traffic only for brief periods, it will be going most of the summer under reduced operating conditions.

Jeff Sisson, chairperson of the aviation authority, said he was just as concerned about the highway, which will be single lane for much of the summer as the state does a resurfacing project.

Kyle said, “My recommendation is not to do it. I just feel like we’re setting ourselves up for an accident.”

Sisson said, “You’re the airport manager. You certainly would not be doing this because you didn’t want to do it. You’re saying it because it causes some real issues with safety.

Kyle said, “That’s exactly what I’m talking about. It’s not that I don’t want to do it. It’s income to us and it’s very, very good PR, but if we hurt somebody there’d never be another one.”

Brad Bailey, the Lions Club secretary, said Thursday that the club had been informed of the decision, but had not yet met to discuss it.

“The board will need to make a group decision,” Bailey said, adding that it would probably keep its options open for a while.

Last year the club held a pancake breakfast, but it transitioned to a carryout drive-thru event because of COVID-19 restrictions. The event was held in downtown Charles City in September.

The event has been a popular attraction in past years, with hundreds of area residents driving out to the airport and scores of area pilots flying in for an all-you-can-breakfast served up by the Lion’s Club, and a chance to see the planes and even go on an airplane ride or a helicopter ride some years.

Historical planes and experimental planes often show up at the event, which has been going on as a partnership between the Lions Club and the airport for about 25 years.

The breakfast is one of the club’s main fundraisers, with the money returned to the community through the Lions’ various programs.