Area wine industry history focus of FCAP spaghetti dinner speech

The 13th annual Friends of the Fallbrook Community Air Park spaghetti dinner was held Aug. 12 at Ed and Julie Murray's hangar, and guest speaker Steve Williamson shared his knowledge of Temecula and Fallbrook wine industry history.

"It was rather informative," said FCAP secretary Tom Wilson.

Williamson is a docent at the Temecula Valley Museum, and his expertise is wine country. He is also a pilot and hangars his plane at French Valley Airport in Temecula. Williamson is also a member of Chapter 1279 of the Experimental Aircraft Association (the Federal Aviation Administration classifies self-built or modified aircraft as experimental).

The EAA has a Young Eagles program in which free introductory flights are provided to children ages 8 to 17 to increase aviation interest among youth. Fallbrook Community Airpark does not have an EAA chapter so Friends of the Fallbrook Community Air Park and Chapter 1279, which is based at French Valley Airport, have collaborated to have a Young Eagles Rally in Fallbrook twice each year since 2001.

Bob Hume supplied the noodles for the spaghetti dinner, Wilson provided the sauce, Steve and Heidi Tillinghast brought the salad, the breadsticks were from Trupiano's, and Lil's Kitchen made the dessert.

"Those who showed up had a pretty good time," Wilson said.

In addition to pilots from French Valley Airport who joined Fallbrook Community Air Park pilots and others at the spaghetti dinner, the attendance included a pilot from Cable Airport in Upland.

A corporation with a board of directors was formed in 1960 to develop an airport in Fallbrook. The construction of Fallbrook Community Air Park took place in 1964 and the completion of the runway allowed Stu Marshall to make the first landing on Oct. 28, 1964, after Marshall drove to Oceanside Municipal Airport where his plane had been hangared.

The County of San Diego owns the 290-acre airport and approved a lease with Fallbrook Community Air Park, Inc., in 1968. The county took back operations of the airport in 1998 after the lease expired. The airport's founders used "Air Park" as separate words to promote the community aspect in addition to the aviation; the county spells "Airpark" as one word. FCAP was retained as a legal entity and became Friends of the Fallbrook Community Air Park.