1941, a group of Army Air Corps officers surveyed the area. On June 12, 1941, Congressman J. Hardin Peterson advised that an area of of woodland had been approved for a basic flying school. The City of Sebring purchased the land and leased it to the government at $1 per year for 99 years. With the end of the war in 1945, the training program began to wind down during September and October, and by mid-November the order came to inactivate the base by December 31, 1945. On February 21, 1946, the city received a permit to operate a civilian airfield on the site and on May 1, 1946, the abandoned airfield was turned over to the City of Sebring to become Sebring Air Terminal, now Sebring Regional Airport & Commerce Park. In December 1950, the first sports car endurance race was held, and since then the world-famous 12 Hours of Sebring Grand Prix of Endurance has been held in March each year, with the race track taking the East-West ramp and the closed Runway 9/27, along with some streets of the former air base-turned commerce park. Only the main hangar, restored in 2000, is now in use. New water and sewage systems were completed, and the military's former high water tower, a very noticeable landmark, was brought down in December 1997. The original military control tower was brought down in December 1999 and has been restored and re-erected as a historical icon, although the airport continues to operate as an uncontrolled airfield. Aviation Expo at Sebring Airport Starting in 2004, Sebring became the home to the annual US Sport Aviation Expo. By 2015, the event had grown to 140 exhibitors. May 30, 2019, the Sebring airport authority announced the event permanently scrubbed. Incidents On December 5, 1978, Douglas C-53 N25656 of Caribe Air Sales crashed shortly after take-off and was destroyed by fire. The gust locks had not been removed before flight and the aircraft was overloaded. All three people on board were killed. Sports car racing Following the end of World War II, aeronautical engineer Alec Ullman, seeking sites to restore military aircraft for civilian use, saw potential in Hendricks Field's runways to stage a sports car endurance race, similar to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Sebring's first race was held on New Year's Eve of 1950, and the first 12 Hours of Sebring was held on