Coming April 2 – Cross City Airport Fly-In, Cruise-In & Business Expo
Make plans to attend this fun, family-friendly event on April 2, 2022. -Photos: Suwannee Valley Times Archives
By Tami Stevenson
Old planes, new planes, home-built planes, military aircraft and more – all coming once again to the 8th Annual Cross City Airport Fly-in, Cruise-In & Business Expo, April 2, 2022, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
There is something for everyone. Not only do they draw aviation enthusiasts, but the event includes RC planes, show cars, trucks and motorcycles, arts and craft vendors, food vendors, childrens games, rides and career information for students from business exhibitors.
The Cross City High School has an aviation program. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in Daytona, helped set up the curriculum for the program and is very popular. Each year, using proceeds from this event, a student scholarship is awarded to a student in the aviation program. They allow the instructors to pick out who the scholarship should go to, usually a senior going to college.
Dixie County Chamber of Commerce volunteer and event organizer, Dana Sheffield, said if anyone has an aircraft or vehicle they want to display, just fly-in or cruise-in! No registration required, just come and join in the fun.
Plane and helicopter rides are always available, including the UH-1H Huey. The thrill of a “doors open,” 8-10 minute wha-whoo ride in the Huey always draws a crowd. The Huey is brought each year, weather permitting, by Friends Of Army Aviation, a veterans group from Alabama.
While the cost to ride in anothear plane or helicopter is around $35, the Huey is $75. According to Sheffield, a Huey burns 90 gallons of fuel every hour. “So when the prices go up even a dollar a gallon, that’s significant for them.” At 90 gallons per hour, that breaks down to 1.5 gallons of fuel per minute!
The military also participates, they generally send helicopters because the runways are not long enough to accommodate a modern jet.
Sheffield said the Coast Guard from Clearwater has always been very supportive of the event as well. “Last year, because of COVID, they couldn’t land. Instead they brought a helicopter and a C-130 and timed it to fly over when we had our national anthem. They did a fly-by, circled around and made another pass then flew back to Clearwater.”
The free admission fly-in normally draws around 3,000 visitors. Last year Sheffield said they had a record number of vendors registered. Craft vendor booths are $30 each. Although high winds and the threat of rain kept some planes and vendors away last year, they are hoping for better skies this year.
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) out of Live Oak has always been very supportive of the Cross City Fly-in and Sheffield is very thankful for them.
“The EAA Chapter 797 out of Live Oak really support us,” he said. They bring a lot of planes and their homemade kiddy train. They really help out. The 797 members all took a barrel and each made an airplane or a UFO or something out of it for kids to ride in.” They have a sister event each year, called Wings Over Suwannee, at the Suwannee County Airport in Live Oak. This year their fly-in is scheduled for October 8, 2022.
The Cross City Airport Fly-in, Cruise-In & Business Expo is sponsored by the Dixie County Chamber of Commerce and held at the Cross City Airport, located at 508 NE 241 Street in Cross City, Florida. For more information call 352-498-6656 or email
For Exhibitor/Vendor information call 352-498-5572.
