I have no idea how it started but there is a tradition in aviation of holding Fly Ins. The basic idea is that an airport invites pilots to come and eat or participate in activities. In May we went to Knoxville for one organized around people that own Beechcraft airplanes. As a side note, it is an all inclusive group, we welcome all types of planes, it is just sponsored and organized by a bunch of Beech pilots.
Earlier this week I received an email from the Saint Augustine Pilots Association announcing a Fly In at Cook County airport in Adel, GA. For those not intimately familiar with small Georgia towns, it is just North of Valdosta. Still lost, it is 111 miles bearing 299 degrees from Jacksonville. The online information was sparse but they listed a number and after several calls I confirmed that they would have a Fly In and that there would be lots of food. They said to invite my friends and just show up, no reservations needed.
Armed with this information I called 3 fellow pilots and 2 were available to go. We decided to arrive at 11 for a noon lunch. Saturday weather looked good when I awoke and we headed out for a day of flying and eating. On the way we had a bit of excitement that I detailed yesterday but once we had picked up our stranded comrades, we flew the last 23 miles and arrived at Cook County Airport.
Going to a new place is always a bit of an adventure, you need to find it and then you never know how good the facilities will be. The runway was listed as good condition and it was smooth but it has some grass growing in the cracks. When we touched down we could see about 10 other planes and a group of people sitting around an open hangar. A BBQ was going and there was a spread of food.
We fueled the plane and met up with our third pilot. Introductions were made as I knew both pilots but they had never met. We had a pretty good group as we had each brought a spouse or Fiance. After fueling, the guys helped me push the plane back into a parking spot. We then went to meet the hosts.
The event is put on by the folks at Azalea Aviation, the local shop. I never did figure out why other than for the fun and fellowship. That may be enough, it was for us. They put on quite a spread and welcomed us. We met a few local pilots, looked at some planes and ate some food. This was a real informal event and I was not even sure how it was funded. They had a can with a small sign saying donations for food appreciated but no one ever asked us to chip in. We did anyway.
Lunch consisted of meats and sides. Not pictures are the healthy fruits and pear cobbler which was extremely tasty and less healthy. After lunch I looked at the weather and told CC and my newly adopted passengers to get there butts in the seats as we needed to go. There was some weather building. Our flight home was un-eventful but a fun ride.
On the way out Ground control had asked me what was up as he had a sudden rush of planes heading to 15J. Surprisingly Jacksonville to Cook county is not a heavily traveled route. When I told him, he said it sounded good and I offered to bring him a plate but he declined. On the way back in I got to tease him about the BBQ he missed but maybe next time I can bring the tower some good eats.
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