Marketta Davis

mdavis@pnj.com

Whiting Field was abuzz with 23 aircraft Wednesday that were to be flown throughout Panhandle airspace by eager Coast Guard, Navy and Marine Corps service members during the 25th annual Fleet Fly-In.

"The Fleet Fly-In's an annual event where we bring in as many fleets as we can from the southeast area," said Cmdr. Rob Sinram, lead organizer and instructor. "They're here for three days, and it gives the students an opportunity to go out on the flight line and look at or sit in them, and most importantly, fly in them."

The students, who are in the midst of flight school, get a chance to experience different aircraft in one place, each with about 10 minutes of flight time in the helicopters that interest them most. They also get to interact with the fleet air crews.

Coast Guard students Lt. j.g. Adam Guarno, Lt. j.g. Weston Dodson, Lt. j.g. Joshua Wofford and Marine Corps 1st Lt. Nathanael Tremean come from different places in the southeast area but are all at the fly-in for the same reason.

"I'm expecting to be able to see the aircraft hopefully that I'm going to be flying in the future as a Coast Guard aviator," said Guarno, 24, who hopes to work with Coast Guard Search and Rescue.

Dodson, 24, said he was looking forward to the hands-on aspect of the fly-in.

"We get to get up and take a flight in the aircraft this afternoon so that will be a great experience for us to see how they operate," he said.

"I want to be an aviation engineer," said Wofford, 25, who was an electrical engineer in college. "I really like the maintenance side of things."

Tremean, 24, said he expected to get an overall idea of what goes on in a fleet since coming from primary to advanced training involves more integration of the pilots and crew members.

"It's been enjoyable," he said. "And it has been difficult because I have no background in flying. So I've gone from none to now getting a better feel for it."

Because this is one of the biggest out of the 1.5 million annual base operations that happen at Whiting Field, planning takes place far in advance for the arrival of the fleet and draws not only students in training but local community leaders and others wanting to take tours.

"It's the only time of the year where we actually get to see flight helicopters coming in, and that's something that's always exciting for a lot of people," said Jay Cope, Whiting Field NAS Public Affairs Officer.

In addition to the flight training, the fly-in includes events like industry displays, a golf tournament and a 5K run. And this year was the first time the event included a helicopter skills competition.

The competition, between one pilot from each of the home squadrons HT-8, HT-18 and HT-28, featured skills in landings, high speed approaches, and interesting tasks like testing helicopter hovering skills by popping balloons.

Tasks like the ones included in the competition not only prepare pilots for regular missions but also prepare them for emergencies that may happen out in the field.

Between the helicopters' arrival, scheduled events and flight training, Cope said the entire fly-in is a lot of fun.

"The event is always exciting for us because we get to work with, accommodate and explore fleet aircraft here at the base," he said.

All in all, the fly-in has a huge impact on the students being that the experiences they take with them are what aids them in career-making decisions regarding what aircraft they want to fly, where they're going to fly and what types of missions will be expected from them.