Cars, planes and bands bring thousands to Greenwood Lake Airport

Awards presented to best in show for all, By Don Webb West Milford — The first annual Crusin’ and Flyin’ Show at the Greenwood Lake Airport was a huge success, bringing thousands of car and aircraft enthusiasts from all over the tri-state area to town for the two-day event. And they were not disappointed. The show included over 80 muscle, classic, antique and custom cars along with several aircraft of all sorts. In addition, there was a battle of the bands contest each day with the winners taking home $2,000 each. Keith and Sandra Wetzel of Vernon took Best in Show for Saturday’s contest with their Dukes of Hazzard General Lee. “It took us over five years to complete this car and this is a dream come true today,” said Keith. “We have one of the biggest ‘Dukes of Hazard’ collections there are.” Sunday’s Best in Show went to Jerry Beke for his 2006 Ford Mustang Muscle Car. Of course there were many aircraft on hand too. Folks enjoyed a C47 Troop Carrier which was actually used in World War II’s D-Day to drop off the 82nd Airborne. There was also a 1941 Beechcraft C-45H. Both are owned by the Genesee Warbirds Museum near Rochester, N.Y. Aerobatic pilot Jay Tesauro took first place for his aircraft in the aircraft display contest. Two members of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, black pilots who trained in Tuskegee, Ala., were on hand to sign autographs and discuss what an important role they had during World War II. And if speed was your interest, you were in the right place. Dan Marcotte’s Streamliner was built for one purpose only - speed. Marcotte spent much of the day answering questions about his pretty unique car. “This Streamliner is now only 9.1 miles per hour away from the world’s record land speed,” said Marcotte, who is from Bakersfield, Vt. “We have reached 276.9 miles per hour. You need at least two miles to slow this thing down.” If music was your thing, there was plenty of it. The top two winners of Battle of the Bands were Ideal Drive from Wayne on Saturday and Evazan from Monroe, N.Y. on Sunday. Each walked away with a $2,000 cash prize. “This is a cool event to play at,” said Jay Indorato of “Waking Up East,” a band from Rock Tavern, N.Y., that participated in Sunday’s battle. “There are classic cars and planes, food and a lot of great bands to listen to here. What a great gig.” And oh the aroma. Sausage and peppers, hamburgers and other picnic foods just saturated the air. Many took helicopter and Bi-Plane rides throughout the weekend. “Wow, everybody should do this at least once,” said James Conners of Springfield, N.J., of his bi-plane ride. “The open air on your face while you are that high up feels great and the views of Greenwood Lake and the airport from up there is breath taking.” “Events like this are great, not just for the airport, but for our local business owners here in West Milford as well,” said Tim Wagner, manager of the airport. And it turned out to be pretty special for one Warwick, N.Y., couple, John Feit and Cindy Davis. “He asked me out last night for our first date and I said yes,” Davis said. “When he said he had a surprise for our first date I would have never expected this. He is off to a ‘flying’ start,” she joked. “That’s why I like her,” said Feit. “She’s funny.”