The Third Annual Polar Bear Fly was held on New Year's Day, 2001. The temperature high of 26 degrees, with snow falling all day long, was much more fitting for Polar Bears than last year's warm event. Thankfully, there was Clayton Chili to warm folks up (as well as a propane heater). The record Y2K crowd slimed down this year to twelve hardy flyers who braved the elements. Some will probably use the excuse that the roads were icy.

There was great camaraderie in the sharing of a common lapse of saneness. Everyone seemed happy and expressed what a good time they were having; getting very cold is known to numb the brain. Anyway, the uniqueness of the day will be a good memory. The twisted twelve said they were glad they made the effort to attend (once fingers thaw).

The survivors are l to r: Tommy Clayton, Emerson Ford, Jason Wallace, Gene Kerr, Shane Sizemore, Albert Watts, Jim Gilliland, and Richard Rust. David Henderson had already left (his wife's birthday is on New Year's Day), Peter Collins and Dr. A.V. Hill had not arrived yet, and Bob Patterson was off flying somewhere. Willie N. Nelson came to the field in the afternoon only to be greeted by a square of grass where the tent had been.

In this photo, three "Polar Bears" are getting ready for take-offs. They are l to r: Jason Wallace, Emerson Ford, and Peter Collins. Notice what a good job the ground crew did making the runway ready. There were no reports of deicing but from the appearance of things it probably would have been a good idea. Jason recorded a new EWMA feat: he landed a Zagi on the runway without damage.

You can compare this event to the First Annual, Second Annual, Third Annual, Fourth Annual, Fifth Annual, Sixth Annual, Seventh Annual, Eighth Annual, and Nineth Annual Polar Bear Fly.

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