Pancake Fly-In Draws Dozens of Pilots to Everglades Airpark

In the early hours of Saturday morning, dozens of airplanes landed at the Everglades Airpark, with golf carts ferrying pilots between the airstrip and McLeod Park. They all arrived for one reason: fine homemade pancakes.

October 3rd was a Pancake Fly-In hosted by Friends of Everglades Airpark, where pilots were invited to land at the airpark for a complimentary breakfast and a chance to donate to support FoEA's efforts to advocate for and make further airpark improvements, such as hangar repairs and other maintenance work.

“The community involvement is great. That's what we want,” said Judy Sims, a member of FoEA who helped coordinate the breakfast. She said community support, both locally and from other pilots across the region, was critical to maintaining the airpark, which she and others said is a valuable community asset.

To the FoEA, the airpark is not only a potential economic driver through commercial and tourism avenues, but also critical to maintain to bring in supplies should Everglades City be cut off during a natural disaster like a hurricane. Last year, the county considered permanently closing the airpark because of the financial deficits associated with running it, but reconsidered after public outcry to save it.

Sims said that the support shown for the airpark, through the pancake fly-in, and at other events, has been astounding.

“Well, this is amazing, what people are doing to save this property, and our next goal post is getting the hangars repaired. We need to get the hangars in with new doors, which have been in disrepair since the storms,” said Sims.

Around 25 planes showed up at the fly-in, similar to previous years. Harry Henkel, another member of FoEA said that the fly-in gave pilots a reason to visit and raised awareness about the airpark, which they hoped would allow the county to offer them further support going forward.

“Flying these little planes, you like to have a destination and something to do when you get there. So this is a novelty almost, and the guys are coming from every direction,” Henkel said.

To make the airpark more of a destination, Henkel said they were considering other fly-in events in the future, including a stone crab claw and a charter fishing fly-in that they were in the middle of discussing with local captains.

He added that they’re pushing to get the hangars repaired to generate more revenue from allowing people to purchase the tie-down space, which is at a premium at other airparks in the area. Once that is finished, Henkel said that it could facilitate the growth of an air club and further expansion of the airpark’s facilities.

Recently, the airpark also purchased a rack of bikes that visitors can take out and ride into town while they visit, to use when golf carts or other transportation isn’t available, offering another level of convenience for those coming to Everglades City.

The next event at the airpark will be the 2nd Annual Airpark Day, held on Nov. 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with food provided by the Lions Club. Raffle tickets will be available at the event, with proceeds going to FoEA, offering an array of prizes, including airplane rides over the Everglades.