Torrential rains may have damped attendance at some pilot workshops Saturday at Pitt Meadows Airport, but infrequent sprinkles weren't enough to keep die-hard aviators and aspiring pilots away on Sunday.

The tarmac might have been soaked, and young children invariably still found puddles to splash around in, but the occasional misty rains didn't stop an estimated 3,000 aviation enthusiasts (about the same number as last year) from pouring into the inner sanctum of the airport Sunday for a glance at current and collectible aircraft, and much more during this year's Pitt Meadows Airport Day.

"We got off to a slow start because of the weather," but as the morning mist stopped, more and more people turned out, said event coordinator Trevor Sandwell.

The free festivities included numerous information booths, antique airplane and car displays, aviation demonstrations and flypasts, entertainment, and even a chance for young children to take a ride on a makeshift airplane train while older kids were given flying lessons and time in the sky.

There have been sporadic community-based events held at the airport since an airshow in the mid-1990s - featuring the Canadian Snowbirds.

But, the most recent incarnation - know as Pitt Meadows Airport Day - began last year, explained Sandwell.

The first year, the event was limited to Sunday's open house. This year, the event was expanded to include workshops and a dance for pilots on the Saturday, then an expanded event for the public on Sunday. Next year, Sandwell said, there are plans to add a third day of activities, with the addition of a minitradeshow on the Friday.

rhooper@mrtimes.com