In addition to doing a brisk business with the take off and landing of aircraft, both propeller-driven and jets, there’s the bustling industrial park.
On the aviation side of the park, many pilots and those interested in flight are well familiar with the Italian company Tecnam. They operate a 21,000 square foot assembly facility and customer delivery center at the airport. The company currently is the number one producer of light sport aircraft in the world, marketing a number of different models in both single and twin-engine configurations.
But Tecnam is just the tip of the iceburg. The park boasts Ultralight pioneer Longwood Aviation, Duc Helice – makers of fine propellers, FLG Teardowns which does aviation salvage, Carter Aviation Group – the masters of repair services and of course, The Sebring Flight Academy – where students come to look to fly. Their simulator is on display in the airside center.
Besides, the flight services and aviation-related tenants, the Sebring Regional Airport has a full list of manufacturing concerns of many different types.
The roster is impressive.
Among them are Turf Care -which manufactures the industry’s leading fertilizer products for the professional and retail lawn care industry, Gulf Coast Manufacturing – the Southeast’s number one metal roofing supplier for better than a quarter century, and Diversified CPC International – distributors of the world’s highest-purity hydrocarbons, specialty gases, and blends.
Other tenants include Advanced Drainage Systems – a company specializing in drainage products and services aimed at solving complex water management issues, E-Stone – manufacturers of the highest-quality countertops, using quartz, granite and recycled materials, Sebring Custom Tanning – which offers a variety of tanning services to help clients achieve their desired bronzed look,and Citra Pac -a specialty manufacturer of unique real-fruit frozen snacks. .
As mentioned earlier, probably the best-known tenant is the Sebring International Raceway. In addition to the world-famous Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring endurance sports car race, the track hosts a myriad of club races, testing rentals and special events. Most people don’t realize the raceway is busy more than 300-days out of each year.
However, as much as the airport is busy with their industrial park tenants, they are positioning the facility for EVTOL service. That’s an acronym for Electric Vertical Take Off and Landing vehicles. The idea is to make the Sebring Regional Airport a “Vertiport.”
This would allow customers easy transport throughout central Florida.
As Bennett pointed out, Sebring is in the middle of the Florida peninsula. That puts the airport within easy range of facilities in Lakeland, Orlando, Palm Beach, Sarasota, and Tampa among others.
The Sebring Airport Authority board already has voted to amend their airport layout to include a takeoff/landing pad, as well as establishing charging and parking areas.
“New technology has given us the ability to charge an aircraft in as few as 10 minutes,” Bennett said.
Moreover, the Florida Department of Transportation reportedly is ready to provide funding for such projects.
The airport already has invested more than $2.1 million dollars in capital improvement projects such as runway repaving, storage and drainage, repair to the airport’s railroad spur, and the extension of the apron to a point where Sebring has the largest such space for any general aviation facility in Florida.
And there’s more on the way. Bennett revealed plans for high mast lighting, runway expansion, work on taxiways and proposed improvements to the airport’s fuel farm.
An interesting side note, a group now has revived the Civil Air Patrol Chapter at the airport. We’ll have more on that later.
And should you stop by the Sebring Regional Airport, they have a wonderful little restaurant. You can read more about The Runway Cafe in this Florida Fun Travel review.
