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L-Birds taking flight -- destination: Keokuk          Send a link to a friend

[JULY 21, 2005]  KEOKUK, Iowa -- L-Birds? Bird Dogs? Bomb drop? Flying formations? Liaison pilots? These words are all associated with the most misunderstood Keokuk area event. That event is the 15th annual International L-Bird Convention July 21-23.

The convention brings together pilots, aircraft and enthusiasts of liaison and spotter planes used since World War I. Aircraft expected to be at this year’s gathering include the Cessna L-19 "Bird Dog," L-17 "Navion," L-3, L-5, L-21, PT-19 and the O-2. Forty to 50 of these vintage and restored aircraft will be at the Keokuk Municipal Airport during the convention. The event has become a favorite stop for the pilots of these aircraft.

Lindner Aviation of Keokuk serves as host and organizer of the International L-Bird Convention, which has met in Keokuk since being lured here by Irv Lindner in 1989. In 1991, the Liaison Pilot Association and the International Birddog Association combined their conventions and have voted each year to return to Keokuk. The gathering gives spectators an opportunity to see and appreciate these aircraft, which were such an important part of the war efforts of the past 75 years.

You will want to mark your calendar for Saturday morning and plan on coming to the Keokuk Municipal Airport. There will be a pancake breakfast from 8 to 11 a.m. This will be a great opportunity to see the planes and meet the pilots that fly them. At 10 a.m., bomb drop and spot landing competition begins, testing the abilities of both the aircraft and pilots. You will also have an opportunity to look around the Keokuk Municipal Airport, a great asset to this area and recognized as one of the finest general aviation airports in the state of Iowa.

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Last year, the convention attendees, representing 28 states and three foreign countries, pumped approximately $150,000 into the local economy.

"The participants love Keokuk and have adopted it as their home away from home for this convention," said former Keokuk resident and International Birddog Association life member Keith Carter.

Many of these pilots spend the week at Keokuk and then fly their aircraft together to Wisconsin's annual Experimental Aircraft Association gathering, simply referred to as Oshkosh.

So, when you look up in the sky and see low-flying aircraft in formation, think of the warbirds, think of freedom, then come and enjoy the L-Bird Convention at the Keokuk Municipal Airport.

[News release from the Keokuk Area Convention & Tourism Bureau; LDN]

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