Sun to come, fun starts now
Spring show celebrates 45 years
Light rain and clouds may not be optimal for a major aviation event, but with sunshine in the forecast, optimism was undampened the day before the April 2 opening of the Sun ‘n Fun International Fly-In and Expo in Lakeland, Florida.
Chris Hinote, the owner of Flying Fish, was optimistic that a swimming pool he set up to display one of his company’s Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey amphibians would not turn into a small flood as local firefighters filled it with a small parade of tanker trucks on April 1.
“Go big or go home,” Hinote quipped, not apparently overly nervous as water streamed (at a relatively sedate pace) from a fire hose into the brand-new, soft-sided pool made for backyards and untested in an airshow display. Or with an aircraft in it. Or previously filled at all.
A firefighter inquired about the weight of the aircraft (about 1,000 pounds) in the eye-catching display, possibly a first temporary pool placement in the 45-year history of a show once known as “spring break for pilots” that has evolved into a fundraising powerhouse fueling aviation’s next generation.
The Greatest Generation remains in the mix, too. Sun ‘n Fun President and CEO John “Lites” Leenhouts said Tom Reilly’s XP–82 Twin Mustang restoration project was expected to fly in April 3, when overcast skies and showers were expected to give way to sunnier skies.
“He just got it flying, and he wanted to show it off,” Leenhouts said. The unusual bird was just one of many interesting aircraft expected to take their places at Lakeland Linder International Airport, including the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, headliners of the popular airshows. Leenhouts said there was so much else to talk about, including interesting and unusual aircraft converging, that he was reluctant to single out other 2019 highlights. He pivoted instead to a theme that he has emphasized since taking his role in 2011:
“This is the largest aviation fundraiser on the planet,” Leenhouts said. After all expenses are paid, the event will pump $2 million into aviation education programs, including $1.5 million to support the Central Florida Aerospace Academy and Aerospace Center for Excellence, which teaches high school students on the airport grounds and supports aviation education in classrooms across the county, and $500,000 for scholarships to help teens earn private pilot certificates.
“We want it to be spring break for sure. It’s not just that, anymore,” Leenhouts said. “We are financially stronger now than we have been in the whole history of 45 years.”
Leenhouts said the ninety-first teen recently earned a private pilot certificate with help from a Sun ‘n Fun-ded scholarship, and “I’ve got 50 more” who have been awarded their own and begun to train to take their places in the next generation of pilots.
AOPA will be doing its part to keep today’s pilots engaged, educated, and having fun. The association’s campus includes two aircraft (your Sweepstakes Super Cub is one of these), and we have a packed schedule of seminars, a Pilot Town Hall with AOPA President Mark Baker, plenty of pilot gear, simulators (including a Red Bull Air Race sim), and much more. AOPA members save $30 on a weekly pass or $5 on a daily pass to the show. Use the discount code AOPA217 when purchasing tickets.
High-energy airshows, exotic aircraft of all kinds, and, of course, food are all great reasons to head to Lakeland. Sun ‘n Fun volunteer Lin Oakley, who was posting notices on a bulletin board April 1 ahead of the arrival of crowds, said the exhibits and performances are always fun to see, though after 30 years it can become challenging to find something you haven’t seen before.
“But the people down here are what make this such a great event,” Oakley said.
That means you, so get down here.
