Hundreds of people turned out to have their photos taken with astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield at a COPA-sponsored event on Thursday at AirVenture. The amiable COPA spokesman greeted each of those who lined up in the International Pavilion where COPA shared a booth with Transport Canada and Nav Canada to promote the General Aviation Safety Campaign. “It’s a great event to bring together some of the many Canadians who attend Oshkosh,” said COPA President and CEO Bernard Gervais.

With Hadfield was his brother Dave, who was there to fly the Vintage Wings Spitfire. The Hadfield brothers also used the event to launch a CD of original music by Dave called Climbin’ Away. A concert at AirVenture’s Theatre in the Woods featuring both brothers was held Thursday night. After the show, Dave Hadfield will head north to Winnipeg to do a cross-Canada flight to Comox, where the Spitfire he’s flying originated. A local group had been working on the restoration for 15 years when Vintage Wings stepped in to complete the extensive job.