Provided Barbecue And Beverages For The Event

The EAA Chapter 534 provided food, drinks and barbeque for a Searey splash-in at Umatilla, Florida on Sunday November 12, 2017.

The Searey amphibian airplane is one that the membership is very familiar with as several members have built them. On top of that, Progressive Aerodyne the manufacturer of the Searey, is located close by in Tavares, Florida.

The host and chapter 534-member, Tom Bowden, has a homebuilt Searey that he keeps in a hangar-like garage behind his home. The setting is ideal for a seaplane base and it is called Bowden’s Landing Island Lake Seaplane Base and it is located in Umatilla, FL.  A large lawn in front of his home slopes gently down to Island Lake and his seaplane ramp so it is easy for an amphibian to taxi up the lawn and park next to the house. Tom says he has had as many as 21 Seareys parked on his lawn at one time.

Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate too well and our Searey count was down a bit. Some pilots opted to drive instead of flying. That didn’t dampen the festivities as a congenial group of Searey enthusiasts gathered around tables for lunch and swapped Searey flying stories.

EAA Chapter members moved their mobile kitchen equipment from their hangar at the Leesburg International Airport in Leesburg, Florida to Tom’s home for this event. Some of the members are experts at serving outdoor meals like this and they have a lot of experience supporting fly-ins around Central Florida. The cost of doing this is supported by donations from those attending.

(Image provided with EAA 534 news release)

FMI: www.534.eaachapter.org