While the Thursday evening and Friday morning weather lived up to the “SWAMP” STOL name, the spirits are high and the National STOL team had an exciting first day in Jennings!

It was a wet night as storms passed through the area Thursday into Friday. The arrivals of the Legend and ArkanSTOL teams were delayed, but the rains dissipated throughout the morning. The newly expanded production team set up interviews at the Jennings Airport FBO before the pilots enjoyed a lunch sponsored by BTR Jet Center in Baton Rouge.

Although practice was delayed by a few hours as the runway dried out, competitors attended their safety briefing and were able to fly starting mid-afternoon. The live broadcast team and announcers enjoyed the opportunity to do a dry run for Saturday’s competition. The strong headwind led to some impressively short take offs and landings! Practice wrapped up by around 5:30pm as competitors and National STOL staff prepared for the evening’s festivities.

Many thanks to the Mayor and City of Jennings, along with the Jeff Davis Parish Tourism Parish, for providing an alternate venue for the crawfish boil and performance by the Bernie Alan Band! Everyone had a great time dancing and eating while catching up with friends old and new.

While Saturday’s weather forecasts to be a bit cool, it should be dry and great weather for flying! Pack your jacket and come on out to Jennings Airport (3R7) for an exciting competition day. Gates open at 9:30am with the competition starting around 11:00am. If you can’t make it in person, be sure to tune in to the livestream on the National STOL Facebook or YouTube pages!