ARCADIA, Fla. — It's a weekly tradition for pilots across Florida. Every Tuesday, people fly to Arcadia Municipal Airport for Taco Tuesday. The airport brings in food trucks and live music to draw pilots to Arcadia - and it's working.
Watch FOX 4's Hunter Walterman talk to pilots about what keeps bringing them back to Arcadia:
The event has become so popular, the airport is doubling its parking space for planes. Right now, around 15 planes can park on the ramp. But that fills up within the first hour, according to Airport Director Shelley Peacock.
During the winter months, more than 100 planes can show up, Peacock said. Taco Tuesday has fans year-round. Ken Blum flew in from Pompano Beach for his 34th Taco Tuesday. Over the last five years, Blum said he's flown over 130 different people to lunch at different locations.
"It's just fun," Blum said.
The airport also lowers the price of its fuel during the event, leading some pilots to jokingly refer to their meal as the $100 taco.
Many people come for the sense of community. Tony Greene has been flying for almost 30 years and said pilots can always find something to talk about.
"When you bring common interests on a common ground, aviation is just a minor part of the conversation," Greene said.
Some people visited out of curiosity. Hunter Windholz and Ron Howard are with the 1UP Aviation flight school in Okeechobee. They flew to Arcadia after hearing pilots talk about Taco Tuesday on radio transmissions.
"[Pilots are] a close-knit community all around central Florida," Windholz said. "When I checked on the vistor list there I saw a bunch of names of people I know."
Howard has come to Taco Tuesday several times. That's exactly what Peacock hopes to hear.
"We were looking for a reason to get pilots together," Peacock said.
At the heart of the event is the taco truck run by Jose Hernandez and his mother Yolanda, who have been part of Taco Tuesday since its inception.
"At the beginning, I wouldn't have said hey, you know, we are who we are because of Taco Tuesday. But now, out of respect, and out of love, we are who we are because of Taco Tuesday," Hernandez said.
He says the event has been great for business, but more than anything, it's about the fun atmosphere that keeps bringing people back. And you don't need a plane to enjoy Taco Tuesday. The airport accepts walk-in traffic on the ground.
The event shows just how far some pilots are willing to go for good food and good company.
"It's not all about flying in a straight line, have some fun with it," Greene said.
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