UNION/FAYETTE TOWNSHIP -- South Point resident Mike Guthrie and his wife Nicole came to the Lawrence County Airpark to sign up for skydiving Saturday.

When they discovered the airpark was hosting its third annual Cruise-In/Fly-In, they decided to stay a little while longer.

"I'm impressed," he said. "The kids loved it. It was a great day, and it's great they do all of this."

At the event, sponsored by the Tri-State Pilot's Association, members of the public watched a radio-controlled plane exhibition, an airplane show, a skydiving exhibition, hot rod, classic car and motorcycle shows and antique aircraft shows.

"We've seen about a thousand people here," Marie Phillips of Attitude Aviation, fixed base operator of the park, said at 1 p.m. "We hope to see more."

At the middle of the day, sunlight and humidity were bearing down on fly-in organizers and those who dropped in. This was better than the rain organizers had expected.

"When you're in aviation, you're used to being at the mercy of the weather," Phillips said.

One aviation attraction was a C-130 aircraft brought by the 130th Air National Guard from Charleston, W.Va. Members of the public could also pay $20 to take a ride in Cessna 172 planes, piloted by members of the Airplane Owners Pilots Association. In some periods during the day, the planes could not go up because it was overcast, Phillips said.

"I personally sold tickets to some people who had never been in a plane before," she said.

The fly-in was also a way to raise money for the Friends of the Lawrence County Airpark's matching funds for an FAA grant that will help improve the airpark. Currently, half of the matching funds have been raised, Phillips said.

Not all vehicles on display had wings.

Advance Auto Parts of Kenova, W.Va., sponsored a car show at the cruise-in and also brought Kimberly McClure, special events coordinator of the Greater Blue Ridge Area of the Juvenile Diabetes Association. The store is the No. 1 fund raiser in the area for the organization, McClure said.

"This is a good crowd, and people are very friendly and upbeat," she said as she sold chances for prizes.

"A lot of people don't like to get out and get their classics wet," Don Schwartz, manager of the Kenova Advance Auto Parts, said. "We've had good community support, and good turnout despite the weather."