GREENVILLE – Once known as a jump-off spot for bush pilots heading to the remote regions of Canada, Greenville became the final destination last weekend for hundreds of pilots and thousands of spectators at the annual International Seaplane Fly-In.

Marking its 31st year, the fly-in celebrated the marvels of flying and the daring of the bush pilots who made a living by shuttling sportsmen, woodsmen and businessmen who sought to take advantage of the resources the area had to offer.

“They were the pilots who opened up the wilderness,” said Suzanne AuClair, a member of the board of directors who organized the fly-in. With fortitude and great skill, bush pilots managed to get into and out of remote areas, often given little space to spare, she said.

The three-day event included contests to test the flying skills of the pilots, from being able to make quick takeoffs to accuracy in landing. There was time for leisurely flights to see the spectacular views from aloft.

Duane Lander, one of the founders of the fly-in, estimated that 100 seaplanes landed on the waters of Moosehead Lake over the weekend and another 200 planes landed at the local airport. The weekend drew about 5,000 people to the Greenville area, he said.

Those numbers could have been higher, but high winds on Friday may have deterred some from attending. Some pilots and many more spectators chose a more earthly mode of transportation, the automobile, to get to Greenville, organizers said.

The fly-in has become a big event.

“For seaplane pilots, it’s the biggest event in the United States,” said David Quam, founder of the Seaplane Pilots Association.

Another founder of the fly-in, Chip Taylor, said he thinks it’s even bigger than that. He said a similar event in Italy is referred to as the Italian version of the Greenville fly-in.

Everett and Palma Harmon drove 200 miles from their home in Berwick to spend the weekend in Greenville and enjoy the scenery and the planes.

Everett Harmon has flown some himself, but his fascination with flight has led him to radio-controlled airplanes, building them and flying them, including some with wingspans of 60 and 80 inches.

When it comes to bigger planes, he likes to take it all in, whether it’s watching the grace of flight or listening to the sound of the plane’s motor going to work.

“You know, I could sit and listen to an aircraft engine run for hours and enjoy it,” Harmon said as he and his wife sat in lawn chairs at the launching facilities at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The fly-in has used the launching facilities for years for this event. A hangar at the DIF&W facilities served as a trade show of sorts for the pilots, with exhibits displaying some of the newest gear, plane services and even NASA, which had a prominent exhibit titled “Pushing the Frontiers of Flight.”

John Pepin was there, too. The owner of a local business that makes composite components for aircraft admits the fly-in has had much to do with his operations being in Greenville. He attended his first fly-in during the early 1970s and has hardly missed one since.

Returning to southern Maine after serving in the U.S. Air Force, Pepin sold his Lake Amphibian airplane so that he could concentrate his time on building his business in Scarborough. But he never forgot the Moosehead Lake area, with the camping, canoeing and flying it offered.

Ten years ago, he decided to move his composite business to Greenville and he hasn’t regretted it, except maybe very briefly every January when he said he reminds himself that he also had considered moving to Hawaii.

“The reason I’m here is because of the seaplane fly-in,” said Pepin, who is now vice president of the organization’s 2004 board of directors.

The fly-in started humbly in 1973 as a way for seaplane pilots to get together, share stories and memories, catch up on old friendships and make new ones.

Founders Lander and Taylor said it also was a way to keep tourists in the area beyond Labor Day, the traditional end of the tourist season.