June 2005-
Originally organized in 1974 as a weekend-long event, the annual EAA fly-in at Lakeland, Fla. has continued to grow in size and stature each year since.
Known in the industry as Sun ‘n Fun, this annual spring gathering—which changed to a full week’s event in 1976 and has remained that way ever since—kicks off the aviation airshow season with lots of opening thunder.
With a relatively humble beginning in 1975 that counted slightly less than 2,000 visitors and 365 participating aircraft, the Sun ‘n Fun organization (sun-n-fun.org) reports that in 2004 there were an estimated 160,000 people, nearly 5,000 aircraft and a record number of commercial exhibitors participating in the weeklong event.
The 2005 Sun ‘n Fun fly-in began on Tuesday, April 12 and ended on Monday, April 18, with a similar crowd expected. There is so much to the event that it is difficult to take in even a portion of it without remaining on-site for several days.
As an example, there are over 450 workshops and forums going on at various times during the show, with lectures and hands-on presentations that run the gamut between personal experiences of a young military transport pilot flying wartime missions over the Himalayas in 1943-44, on through sheet metal and riveting work for first-time aircraft builders.
The daily 3-plus-hour afternoon airshow (plus one after-dark airshow) features a revolving list of acts. They range from aerobatic General Aviation aircraft doing their exotic routines on through a bevy of other aircraft that could be anything from a gaggle World War II warbirds doing a bombing re-enactment or the USAF F-16 demonstration team doing formation fly-bys in front of the assembled crowd.
The evenings, too, are packed with events. A fireworks display, live Big Band music, lectures, presentations and movies were just some of the after-sunset happenings on the airshow grounds.
Many of the attendees (and the volunteers, which comprise the overwhelming portion of the on-site work force) will camp out at Sun ‘n Fun for several days, in facilities that range from pup tents pitched alongside their parked airplanes on through elaborate motor homes parked in the designated RV camping areas.
But no matter how large the Sun ‘n Fun Airshow is, the enjoyment for each person is invariably in the details of the events that he or she is most inclined toward. There is simply so much to see and do for that weeklong aviation exhibition in Florida that those who enjoy it the most will find themselves caught up in the little details of the topics and areas that particularly interest them.
If you are shopping for new products for your airplane—or a new airplane, for that matter—you’ll find all the comparisons you could want tucked conveniently inside and all around the four huge display hangars where the vendors have set up their wares.
Looking for information on how to do this or that, or where to turn next with whatever your problem or project might be? There are lots of folks available, from structured forums to informal groups of like-minded enthusiasts, to give you a steer in the proper direction.
Just hanging around the airshow taking in this detail or that will sometimes open your eyes to a particular aspect of aviation that you never knew existed or doubted that you’d ever be drawn to.
What Sun ‘n Fun has basically become is lots of nice people, lots of nice things, lots of nice airplanes and lots of nice flying—all of it spread out over many acres and over seven days. The EAA Sun ‘n Fun Fly-in can cater to just about any interest of just about any pilot. All it takes is the investment of some of your time so you can immerse yourself in some of the details that are packed into this airshow.
Editor-at-large Thomas Block has flown nearly 30,000 hours since his first hour of dual in 1959. In addition to his 36-year career as a US Airways pilot, he has been an aviation magazine writer since 1969, a best-selling novelist. He owns an L-19 Birddog, which he contends is a straight cross between a Piper Super Cub and a high-wing Cessna taildragger.
