Vero Beach

Piper (they finally dropped the "New Piper" name) is in the process of deciding whether to remain in Vero Beach, FL, or to move to another location. In the last few days the city of Vero Beach has hinted that Piper will stay at Vero. No confirmation from Piper, so I suppose that the hunt is still on. Personally, I’d like to see them stay in Vero, if only for old time’s sake. The very first new airplane I picked up at a factory was an Arrow at Vero back in 1973. I went on to pick up airplanes at Piper’s old (and long since closed) Lock Haven, PA, factory and Piper’s Lakeland, FL, factory. I also picked up many a cropduster at Cessna’s Wichita factory, but that’s a different story. I enjoyed Vero most of all. They had a fine restaurant, the Ocean Grill, that served wonderful key lime pie and Boston black beans, plus enough other specialties to drive any glutton insane. I finally quit ordering an entrée at all, and just made a meal of the appetizers. In season, we always packed the aircraft with oranges and grapefruit before returning home. I remember one time flying back to Montgomery, AL, with something like 20 bags of citrus fruit for other folks and me. On the way home I stopped by my mother’s house to visit. Shortly after leaving the airport, she informed me that the temperature was dropping below freezing that night. We turned around and headed back to the airport where I unloaded all the fruit and reloaded it into Mother’s car. I had to repeat the process in reverse the next morning. The temperature never even came close to freezing. Another perk of a trip to Vero was the restaurant at Cedar Keys, FL. It was a quaint little village on the Gulf of Mexico with restaurants on stilts over the water. We'd buzz the town, then land at the airport. Eventually an old Mercedes would pick us up. It was driven by a woman who described herself as being the town drunk. She took us to a restaurant where we could eat heart of palm salad and shrimp while watching pelicans out the window. Vero brings back a lot of memories, but Piper’s decision must be based on other factors. I just hope those factors add up in favor of remaining at Vero Beach. We’d love to post your comments. Please click the comment tab at the top.