Northwest Aviation Conference 2025
On a cold and rainy Saturday at 5:30 AM the Hart family and I climbed into the car and began the long drive up to Puyallup, Washington for the 2025 Northwest Aviation Conference. After a few hours of driving, we arrived and began setting up a booth for Hood River Soaring next to the Puget Sound Soaring Club’s two gliders. Once we finished setting up, Jonathan Hart and I began our annual tradition of a pen collecting contest. We each went to just about every booth and procured ourselves as many pens as possible. Returning to the booth, we talked to many people about the benefits of soaring, sharing our stories, and often, listening to visitors’ memories about that one time their wife bought them a scenic flight or how they were always interested in gliding.
By 3 o’clock, we’d connected with many people who wanted to start soaring. At 3:30, we made our way to a conference room and gave a presentation on the benefits of soaring. It went well, and afterward we packed up for the day. Everyone was hungry after a long day of talking about soaring, so we made our way to Bob's Burgers and Brews to have dinner with some members of the Puget Sound Soaring Association. Once our hunger was cured and our minds filled with more soaring knowledge, we drove North to Brad Pattison’s house for some well-deserved rest.
We awoke Sunday morning to a pancake breakfast and a beautiful view of Gig Harbor. After some morning coffee and an impromptu photo shoot on the dock, we headed for Puyallup. The second day was like the first: many interested aviators and quite a few who seemed keen to join our community. Jonathan and I continued our pen-collecting contest and made connections with companies such as Kenmore Air and Alaska Airlines. At 2:30 we made a second soaring presentation and afterward prepared to head back home.
Overall, this was a great experience. I made some great connections, got to introduce quite a few people to soaring, and enjoyed the company of my fellow aviators. When I arrived home, I counted my pens. With a final sum of 134, I beat Jonathan!
- Henry Mason
