SEFF 2011

Written by Jay Smith Find the entire feature on page 18 in the September 2011 issue. Read an abridged summary as well as photos from the event.

THE FIRST TIME I attended the Southeast Electric Flight Festival (SEFF) was in 2003. It was the second year of the event and the first time it was held at Hodges Hobbies in Andersonville, Georgia. I was eager to attend a big electric event and it turned out to be worth the trip from Florida to fly at a wonderful field and meet some great people who enjoyed electric-powered aircraft as much as I did.
The next year I took my father and he, too, became hooked on the southern hospitality and Mac Hodges’ beautiful grass field, not to mention his full-service hobby shop on the premises. So it became a yearly pilgrimage to attend this premier event that continued to grow year after year.
In that time, I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of nice people, take a ride in Mac’s Cub, and had the privilege to be one of the 99 pilots to set a Guinness World Record in 2008.
This year I was eager, as always, to attend the event because 2011 marked the 10th anniversary of SEFF and what would be known as SEFF Week, April 11 to 16. When I arrived on Thursday, things were already in full swing.
A quick look around showed that the pilots’ pit area was roughly the length of three football fields, and was two deep with pop-up tents. The vendor area was full with the latest and greatest electric-powered aircraft and accessories, and Hodges Hobbies was cool and inviting as always.
The Limited Motor Run (LMR) Glider Contest, a Thursday SEFF tradition, was winding down so I wandered over to watch flying wings being fired upon by paintball guns. This event, called the SEFF Paintball Shootout, was new this year.
Read the entire event coverage as well as an exclusive interview with Jeff Meyers as SEFF celebrates ten years starting on page 18 of the September 2011 issue.