LGBTQ pilots promote inclusiveness at Eastern Iowa Airport fly-in

CEDAR RAPIDS — Pilots from the National Gay Pilots Association on Sunday circled The Eastern Iowa Airport with LGBTQ pride flags tacked onto their planes and then landed for the group’s first “Wings Over Iowa” fly-in event in Cedar Rapids.

More than 300 people gathered to see over 20 aircraft, a United Express jet, a helicopter and a hot-air balloon. Visitors ate food from vendors and listened to live music by Hello Weekend.

With 18 aircraft projected to fly in Sunday, more than 20 showed, National Gay Pilots Association President Brian Gambino said.

“We’ve got some extra aircraft that we weren’t expecting, and that’s a darn good thing,” he said. “The welcome atmosphere that we have had is beyond encouraging and pushes us to return here. This is a great way for NGPA to kick off Pride here in Iowa.”

Standing next to his aircraft, Patrick Keys, 41, who flew two hours from Chicago, said he has been flying for 19 years and is a member of the National Gay Pilots Association, which has about 4,100 members.

“It’s just about openness and inclusion, getting our visibility out,” Keys said. “Especially for an event like this, to show that we are not only gay but we are people who share similar interests.”

Flying in from even farther, Hunter Hayes, Western Michigan University’s College of Aviation flight instructor and an association member, flew 2.5 hours from Michigan with two other flight instructors Friday morning.

“My big thing is that we are showing that our university and our employer is inclusive and inviting to LGBTQ folks,” Hayes said.

Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell, the chief executive officer of Women Lead Change and a pilot herself, said at the event that the city is working hard to let people know that Cedar Rapids is a place for everyone.

“As a woman who runs a women’s leadership organization, I know oftentimes for women we say ‘you have to see it to be it,’ and I feel that this is an opportunity for young people and other people like me,” she said.

The event fell on the same weekend as Cedar Rapids’ first LGBTQ Pride parade on Saturday, noted Julie Stow, director of meetings and conventions for the Cedar Rapids Tourism Office. Stow said Cedar Rapids Tourism hopes to bring back the Wings Over Iowa event in the near future.

“I am just so thrilled to see our community out here supporting NGPA and (the) aviation community,” Stow said. “This is all about the pilots and pride today.”

P&N Flight and Charter, a company in Marion, flew three planes and a helicopter to the event. P&N President Cole Norton said he and his husband, Lucas Rinaldi, have hosted fly-ins, but not as big as Wings Over Iowa.

“For me, the fact that the NGPA is in Cedar Rapids is a big deal,” Norton said.

Attending as an ally of the LGBTQ community, Kathy Healy, 73, of Cedar Rapids, said she retired from Southwest Airlines on May 1 after 20 years.

“I admire anyone from the LGBTQ community. Especially in the pilot group, and in the flight attendant group, it’s now very welcoming,” she said. “We need good people everywhere.”

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