July 15, 2025
cedar_mills_2309

By Michael Stephan

October is the best month of the year for local flying events. The weather for most of the month was very pleasant to near perfect with the exception for the last weekend of the month which was very IFR and very soggy. That dampened the enthusiasm at Reklaw.

Don Christiansen and David Cheek in line for Friday night Fajitas in the Hangar

Two weeks earlier the Vintage Aircraft fly in at Gainesville had beautiful skies, but was a bit breezy. I was unable to make it to that event, but I did make the next weekend’s event at Cedar Mills.
The Splash In/Safety Seminar event at Cedar Mills is my favorite event of the year, as many readers of this publication can tell you. It encompasses excellent food, friends, and a variety of airplanes and pilots. The seminars are also very good.

When I noticed that Lucky was not giving one of the Safety seminars, I was worried that Friday night’s Cajun dinner might not happen. It turned out that Lucky was not there to prepare Friday’s dinner, instead the early arrivers were treated to Fajitas and Margaritas.
I missed being able to visit with Lucky, but those margaritas softened the blow quite a bit. I also missed his Cajun Cuisine, but the fajitas were excellent. Kudos to Chris Worstell and the crew at Cedar Mills. The event starts on Friday with a evening meal in the hangar at the top of the hill. Then there is usually some late night camp fire talk before settling in for the night.

Saturday morning wakes you up with the sound of early arriving aircraft. Seminars start early as well and continues till late afternoon. Bruce and Mary Ann had lunch prepared for Chapter members taking a break from the days activities. It was a pleasant day visiting with other members at our home base in the campgrounds. I love the tales told by other members in that relaxed setting. Saturday night’s group dinner at the restaurant in the Marina is the pinnacle of the event. The food features an Octoberfest theme that includes Wine and Beer. After dinner there is an additional safety presentation followed by dozens of Door Prizes. It is hard to walk out of there empty handed.

More camping on Saturday night, and when you wake in the morning breakfast is ready for you in the Hangar prepared by the Sherman EAA Chapter.
The weekend is full of Aviation related activities with plenty of time in between for some fun and relaxation.

 


By Pete Miller

Usually, I don’t get to attend this fly-in because of my schedule, but this year it worked out. I loaded up the RV-7 with my camping gear and made the short 15 minute flight up to Cedar Mills. I got there on Friday, so there weren’t a lot of people on the field. I saw Don Christiansen’s yellow RANS S-21 parked along the tree-line, so I parked next to him. I set up my campsite, and by the time I got that done it was time to register. There were going to be fajitas served in the hangar that night, and the margarita machine was already going, so…

Camping on Friday night was amazing. It was very dark and not a cloud in sight, which made for a great night of star-gazing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I attended all of the seminars that were offered on Saturday. They were all very well attended; in fact I gathered that the crowds were bigger this year. There were several groups of flight school students in attendance. I applaud their schools for arranging that. The final dinner on Saturday night was delicious, and there were amazing door prizes.

I highly recommend attending this fly-in. The time was relaxing, and yet I also learned a lot from the FAA seminars.