For my first show of the year, I decided to fly to Florida and visit the Sun'n Fun Air Show in Lakeland, Florida. The show had a reputation of being a quality show with enough airplanes to satisfy even the most die hard aviation fan.
Pre-Show Festivities
The show officially began around 1 p.m., but there was a "show" all morning long. Hundreds of civilian owned and operated light aircraft either took off or landed at the show. The pattern was full of aircraft as people came into or left the show.
Also, an interesting addition was the chance to ride in a helicopter or bi-plane. I think this is a wonderful idea. Not only does it give the people a chance to experience the thrill of flight, but it gives the spectators something to watch before the show.
The static display was fantastic, and simply put, HUGE! The static display contained everything from experimental homebuilts, commercial, general civil, warbirds, and modern military front line aircraft. My coverage will be "lopsided" since my interests are in warbird and military aviation.
Here are some of the more interesting aircraft from the static display:
Officially named the A-10A Thunderbolt II, this image represents why the aircraft is affectionately known as the "Warthog".
The tail of an F-16 from the New Mexico Air National Guard.
P-51 Mustang nose art
Business end of the F4U Corsair
I was pleasantly suprised when the Florida Air National Guard arrived with their F-15 Eagles, which performed several touch -n- go landings and several afterburner passes. Eventually, they were placed on static display.
The Roar of the Engines!
After the national anthem, Chris Rounds opened the show in his CT-133 Shooting Star "The Red Knight"
After the Red Knight was recovered, the warbirds took to the sky.
P-51 Mustang - "Geraldine"
F4U Corsair
Boeing Stearman
The Professionals
Matt Chapman and Mike Mancuso flew their two ship display, and as usual, were phenominal to watch. In my opinion, they are probably two of the best civilian performers on the air show circuit right now.
Gene Soucy in the "Show Cat"
The Aeroshell Team - T-6 Texans
USAF F-15 Eagle (West Coast Demo) & Heritage Flight
The USAF participated in the show by providing a demonstration of the F-15 Eagle by the West Coast demo team from Eglin Air Force Base.
The Heritage Flight consisted of the P-51 Mustang "Crazy Horse", F-15 Eagle, and the F-22A Raptor.
P-51 Mustang - "Crazy Horse"
F-22A Raptor
After the Heritage Flight, the conclusion of the show was a small unoffical demonstration of the F-22 Raptor. Lakeland, Florida native Lt. Colonel Mike Shower flew the demonstration. What a thrill it must have been to provide a glimpse of arguably the world's best fighter plane in front of your home town audience.
Conclusion:
I enjoyed my time at the show. I met up with my friend Dick from Tampa again and also met a new friend "JP". This was my first show this year, and I was rusty. My photos show it... but, like the sign says... "The Aviation Year Starts Here". I'm back in the saddle, ready to go shoot the next show, Akron Ohio. June 17-18.
