SE Commanders Fly-In, Sebring

Today, the Commander Owners in Florida and other nearby states came together at Sebring Regional Airport in Sebring, Florida. The event was organized by Judi and George, and included a tour of the Air Cam factory and lunch at the airport restaurant. I believe there were 17 Commanders on hand, including one from Canada.

Andrew and I left the house around 8:30 AM. Our plane was still covered by dew when we arrived at the airport. We quickly removed the covers and completed our check lists. The plane was slow to start; perhaps I should have turned the prop a few times by hand to spread the oil around the cylinders. Once running, I let it run for about 10 minutes to allow the oil temperature to rise into the yellow arc.

A few minutes after 9:00, we asked for taxi clearance and began our flight. After departing Melbourne, we climbed to 2,500 feet and contacted Miami Center for information on the restricted air space in our flight path. The controller gave me a different frequency to try. When I tried the new frequency, the next controller told me he couldn't hear me and to try a better radio. Not a good thing to hear, but something I've been hearing far too often these days. I decided to wait and call back the first frequency as I approached the air space. To help things out a bit, I climbed to 4,500 feet with hopes that my broadcast would go a little further before breaking up. I was able to make contact and learned that the restricted air space was "cold", which means I was able to fly straight through to Sebring.


View Sebring Flight 01-2012 in a larger map

As we approached the airport, I heard several other Commander pilots maneuvering to land. I joined in on the left 45 for runway 14. I was followed by Eric, a Commander owner from Merritt Island. On the ground, we taxied and took a spot in the line of Commander aircraft that were lined up outside Lockwood Aviation Supply. Several owners that I've previously met were already there, but there were many more that I hadn't yet met.

The tour of the Air Cam factory was a lot of fun. The coolest plane there was called "Puff" and was painted like a dragon, complete with teeth, horns, scales, claws, and wings. Unfortunately, I didn't snap a photo - what was I thinking?? I guess I was too busy listening to Phil Lockwood described the inspiration and history of the design. To summarize, he was looking for something lightweight, but with twin engines, to use for photography missions for National Geographic, so he designed his own plane.

Next came lunch at the restaurant. I sat beside Eric and his wife Erin, and across from Jeff and Julie, and Phil and his son, from Canada. After lunch, Dan gave a nice toast, thanking Judi and George for arranging such a fine fly-in.

It was so nice to finally fly to a Commander gathering in my own plane. Hopefully, this was just the first of many.

SE Commanders Fly-in Sebring 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL