Freedom Reprinted from Tallahassee Democrat 05/16/04 www.tdo.com

Ask any of the pilots or airplane enthusiasts Saturday who descended on the Tallahassee Regional Airport airstrip why they showed up at the Capital City AirFest, and you'll hear the same answer.

Freedom.

More than 300 people attended the event, which showcases small airplanes from as far back as the 1940s, military aircraft such as the F-16 fighter jet and radio-controlled model planes. Some were courageous enough to jump in and enjoy a flight.

"It's total freedom," said John Sivyer, organizer of the two-day event and president of the Tallahassee chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association, a national recreational flying organization. "You get up there and you go where you want to go and do what you want to do."

The fly-in concludes today at 5 p.m.

This is the first year the AirFest has been held in the city. It is usually held at Quincy Airport. The event started as an annual meeting for EAA members in South Georgia and North Florida, but Sivyer said he thought it was important to get the public involved. He also said he wanted to see just how many former pilots lived in the area and were still possibly interested in flying.

About 40 privately owned planes flew in to the airport to attend the event, and local families walked from wing to wing, checking out the different gadgets and gears on each air vessel. Those who wanted to fly a plane but keep their feet firmly planted on the ground virtually test-piloted planes on computer terminals or played with the dozen or so radio-controlled planes and helicopters on display.

Capt. R. D. Lake and his 1966 model propeller plane, the Citabria, flew in from Quincy. He said the AirFest gives people a chance to pay homage to the aviators and planes of the past. Many of the planes on the airstrip Saturday were reconstructions or restorations of past planes, and some were built from scratch.

"Flying planes like these is an old art. You fly with the windows open and the elements right there in your face," Lake said. "This is therapy for me. Some people take pills to relieve stress. I fly."