Festival gives Apalachicola airport a lift 

Franklin County Commissioner Ottice Amison, right, presents the plaque renaming the fixed base operator complex to Ted Mosteller, who recently retired from many years of advice to the Apalachicola airport. [ David Adlerstein | The Times ]

Standing alongside a booth outlining the rich history Tyndall Air Force Base has had in developing the Apalachicola airport as a training base during World War II, Franklin County Commissioner Ricky Jones, at right, presents the county’s Challenge Coin to Col. Christian Bergtholdt, who commands Tyndall Air Force Base’s 325th Fighter Wing. [ David Adlerstein | The Times ]

Apalachicola’s Zoe Cross, who works for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, at right, enjoys a moment with her mom, Rachel Cross, visiting from Dayton, Ohio, aboard the UH-1H “Huey” helicopter rides. [ David Adlerstein | The Times ]

Adam Gibbons, with the Vanilla Unmanned Platform program out of Hollywood, Maryland, shows off the diesel-propelled drone that holds the Guinness world record of staying aloft for eight days, 50 minutes and 12 seconds. [ David Adlerstein | The Times ]

Apalachicola Bay Charter School second grader Khyleigh Jones stands with Skip Lovell’s 1949 Studebaker pickup truck that he drove in from Crawfordville. The frame is original, but powered by a 1977 Trans-Am motor. “I’ve been working on a paint job for 40 years,” he said. [ David Adlerstein | The Times ]

B.J. Neshat, a member of the airport board, shows off the two-seater Long-EZ experimental aircraft he built in 1987. The plane, based on a design by Burt Rutan, can reach speeds of 185 miles per hour, and fly up to 1,000 miles on its 55-gallon supply of fuel. [ David Adlerstein | The Times ]

I

t all started when Phil Shelly, who heads up the Experimental Aircraft Association chapter at the Apalachicola Regional Airport, got together with Franklin County Commissioner Ottice Amison several months ago to discuss scheduling a modest fly-in to the airport.

Later at the annual Chef’s Sampler in early spring, the two would meet with Steve Kirschenbaum, chair of the county’s airport committee, and an elaborate plot was hatched. Kirschenbaum, now a resident of St. George Island, had organized air shows back in his native Long Island, and so he had the background, and the gumption, to complete the assignment.

On Saturday, beneath picture perfect blue skies, the airport’s first Forgotten Coast Freedom Festival, timed to coincide with a post Veterans Day theme, got off the ground in spectacular fashion, drawing an enormous crowd to its day-long series of events that opened with an inspiring fly-over of a pair of F-35 jets from Eglin Air Force Base timed in coordination with the National Anthem.

Students from both Port St. Joe High School’s NJROTC program, and Franklin County’s Cadet Core were on hand, with a color guard from the Core standing proudly as the jets flew overhead.

Air Force Col. Jordan Grant, deputy commander of Eglin’s 33rd Fighter Wing, was on hand, as was Col. Christian Bergtholdt, who commands Tyndall Air Force Base’s 325th Fighter Wing.

After remarks from Kirschenbaum, who serves as interim airport manager, and from County Commissioner Ricky Jones, Amison, whose district west of Apalachicola includes the airport grounds, presented an award to longtime airport devotee Ted Mosteller. The plaque marked the renaming of the fixed base operator complex for Mosteller, a Franklin County native, Air Force veteran and past airport manager, who was “an instrumental force in pushing Apalachicola Regional Airport into the 21st century.”

Later in the afternoon, Amison, a former member of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, which specializes in parachute assault operations, got a chance to take his young son Cruz on one of the UH-1H “Huey” helicopter rides. The 10-minute ride, for which the line was long and enthusiastic all day long for the 300 people who took part, prompted older son Colin to joke that the helicopter ride was “a first” for his dad.

“First time you ever landed in one,” he said.

With many food trucks and vendor booths lining the runway, and a VIP tent featuring a low country boil prepared by Eastpoint’s Mangia restaurant, the festival was jam packed all day. A car show brought more than 50 vehicles on display.

Many pilots placed the aircraft from their hangars front and center on the tarmac, to delight the eyes of curious onlookers. Such as Richard Woodward’s 1956 Fuji LM1, among 27 such four-seater aircraft built in Japan by Fuji Heavy Industries as an accessory to a contract with the United States to build 176 T-34 two-seater trainer planes. Only six remain on the active flight rolls of the FAA, he said.