On an overcast day with mild temperatures, my wife Randee and I hopped in an RV-12 and zipped from Daytona to Lakeland, Florida, home of the famous Sun ‘n Fun campus situated on the south side of the municipal airport. The occasion: Sun ‘n Fun’s Holiday Festival, a car and airplane show.
Like many of you, I’ve been having airshow withdrawal. Even with a wide-open attitude about traveling to these events, I have only made three shows this year: Copperstate at Buckeye, the Midwest LSA Expo, and this Sun ‘n Fun event. I gotta tell you it was again great to get out among the flyboys and flygirls for the day. We did not return on Saturday, which was a bright, sunny day but AviNation publisher Jacob Peed reported, “The crowd [size] was very impressive and much improved from Friday. The vendors I talked to were very happy!”
With its full name, Holiday Flying Festival and Car Show, Sun ‘n Fun marketing boss Greg Gibson said the event is the nonprofit’s first large-scale holiday show.
“We will feature more than 80 exhibitors, 200 aircraft and 150 vehicles on display,” he said. “We want to raise some money, but [raising money is] not the end all, be all. We want to maintain our relevance in the community and let people know we are here for them.” To entertain the community, Sun ‘n Fun also put on two air shows including a night event on Friday.
In the area affectionately known as Paradise City — where the LSA Mall would normally be located — a STOL competition was also held. It was quite the gathering of taildraggers (and one nosedragger).
On a Mission
I made the short flight (45 minutes) from my home base at Spruce Creek Fly-in for several reasons.
What’s that!?! …a nosedragger? Among all the taildraggers was one outlier: CubCrafters XCub. Some not-photographed Zenith trigear models also participated.
I wanted to support the folks running Sun ‘n Fun as they took a tough beating this year when they were forced to cancel the event for 2020. A gathering like Festival was one of several efforts they are making to revive activity at their familiar location.
Festival may be the biggest but not a rare occurrence for Sun ‘n Fun, Inc. They often host other events using their facilities: the airshow operation headquarters; a first-class museum; a STEM-oriented high school with flight operations run by old friend Mike Z (few try to pronounce his last name) …plus lots of acres of land dedicated to airplanes and other fun toys.
We all missed Sun ‘n Fun in April but it was fun to be on familiar turf checking out the hardware and visiting with friends including many “airshow buddies.”
Checking Out Alto
Beside the general interest I had in supporting Sun ‘n Fun, I was also keen to see the new representative of the Direct Fly Alto, once represented by Ron Corbi. Today the Czech brand is imported by Scott Rose, an energetic marketer who told me he’d have something special at Festival. How could I resist.
Scott Rose (in slime green) and Dan pose by the re-introduced Direct Fly Alto 100.
Scott’s flight to Lakeland (KLAL) was even shorter than my cross country jaunt. Alto North America is based at Plant City — also home to Sensenich props. Scott’s flight was a whole eight minutes, he said.
Every Alto I’d ever seen in the U.S. was white so, being a creature of habit, that’s was I was scanning the exhibits for, hoping to spot Scott. Instead, what I found was a bright green airplane decked out with logos and images from the Ghost Buster movie, a favorite of Scott’s. So… Slimmer green it was. In fact, the paint job was striking even without the movie logos but being a good marketer, Scott also had Slimmer tee-shirts (which my wife bought for a pre-teen lad I’ll be taking aloft around Christmas), mugs, hats, and an elaborately-painted trailer that he used for his display.
The design has been off the U.S. market for some years. I interviewed Scott at Sun ‘n Fun’s Festival and you can hear more about the airplane when that’s ready. In the meantime, I’ll post an article about what you can expect from this design.
Tribute to Mike Theeke
Among the most colorful aircraft at any Sun ‘n Fun were beautifully airbrushed weight shift aircraft displayed by Fly Hard Trikes. I’ve lost track of how many awards these handsome aircraft won over the years, but regretfully, they won their last.
A former Michigan resident, Michael Theeke (pronounced “Tiki”) relocated to an airport I know very well, the Jasper airport outside Chattanooga, Tennessee on the way to Nashville. The airport has a wonderful location near the Nickajack Recreational Area, part of the TVA.
Mike succumbed to a battle with cancer this year but I will long remember his gorgeous creations. He was also well known for being a very professional flight instructor who taught more than 200 how to fly.
Rest in peace, Mike. You will be missed.
Sad to say but even if you get tired of Covid-19, the virus is not getting tired of you!
Wear a mask, social distance, wash your hands, hang in there for 5-6 more months and we can all get back to living a more normal life. You made it to the bottom of the 9th, don’t stop now!!!
Take care and be safe,
Yes be careful of that terrible virus that’s less dangerous than the flu…. lol
Sorry you missed the tri-gear Zeniths (and a few others) at the STOL Competition. We’ve been tri-gear and flying STOL for decades 🙂
I’m eager to see Zenith at Oshkosh. I couldn’t justify being in crowds – – even outdoors – – at a time when infections and deaths climb to new records every day. It’s not about me, I want to keep y’all safe in case I’m asymptomatic. Remember Sturgis! With the vaccine rollout late July probably is doable.
So brave and selfless of you to try to protect me from freedom. The pedestal that you’ve put yourself on must have been pretty tough to climb. Do you need oxygen up there?
No thanks, though – I put on a uniform and swore an oath to defend your freedom to follow the lies. Afford me the same freedom to choose not to.
Well said.
Masks are good practice for indoors, but in open air are hardly needed; research here in the UK finds that indoors high ventilation is necessary, (even the eco-conscious German schools have open windows despite the heat losses in winter). However outdoors risk is minimal, although certainly social distancing is still best, easy in an airfield for everyone.
Go to a high density urban environment like New York, and locals shout at you if just your nose peeps above the mask, Floridan sun and wider-spaced housing is a very different infection track, maybe crowding into air-conditioned housing I’d be right with you, but tents and open areas?
No masks. No social distancing. I love my aviation friends and want them to be safe and healthy. We can do better.
Glad to see common sense returning.
I for one am tired of the highly-politicized cold virus fad. I personally witnessed many in attendance wearing fabric face coverings outdoors in the sunshine! Physical distancing from socially active humans is your option. Maybe next time you can shelter at home and read up on biology and human physiology while wearing an N95.
The aerial demonstrations were fabulous: T-28, F-16, F-35, SNJ, P-51. The STOL competition was terrific entertainment in which all pilots can imagine themselves accessing a new skill. A highly modified 300 horsepower Just Highlander was expertly flown in competition by Steve Henry (see Kitplanes September 2020).
Well done, Sun ‘n Fun staff and volunteers.
300 000 dead Americans would suggest that the anti-mask crowd is the politicized one.
Andrew and others commenting on the Covid matter — I have let all these posts go live even though they do not directly relate to airplanes and aviation. I don’t wish to interrupt a dialogue but neither do I want this website to mimic social media.
THEREFORE, your message is the last I will post referencing Covid. I appreciate everyone’s contribution, but this is not a medical forum.
Good call, Dan. Once it got personal it was right to close the thread. See you at Oshkosh.
Right on.
More than that die in car crashes each year… so you better stay far away from all cars… they are so deadly.