Sun 'n' Fun 2010

[Plow King]

G'day all

After finally getting to Airventure in '05, we thought we head to Sun 'n' Fun in April this year for something different. I would be interested to hear if anyone here has made the trek to Lakeland and what their experience was. Any advice for young players would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

PK

[TCAS FAN]

Went on the last Sunday in 2009, a big let down. All the warbirds, which I went to see had displayed and left on the Saturday. Previous years they displayed on both days. Therefore suggest you check the programme for this year if you are hoping to see them.

Plenty to see in the static parks, but some of the manufacturers, ie Piper and Cessna, were packing up and leaving by mid afternoon on the Sunday.

Previous years had seen dozens of microlights operating on a strip south of the main runway, virtually nothing in 2009.

Had the recession hit Sun & Fun? Cannot get back this year, saving up for the CAF Midland display at the end of the summer.

[Peter Fanelli]

Something else well worth a look if planning trips is the Reno Air Races.
Happens around 3rd weekend in September. If you can stay long enough, do Reno and Midland in the same trip.

[M14_P]

I'm wondering why you would want to go to Sun n Fun AFTER going to Oshkosh?
There isn't a thing you didn't see at Oshkosh that you will see at sun 'n' fun. Heck of a long way for one airshow...but Oshkosh as we know is well worth it!
I am putting plans together to attend the National Aerobatic Championships in Sept, and as it happens, Reno is on the week before so seeing whether I can put a plan together to do both. Why not do Reno? Now that would be something different. : )

[jportzer]

As alluded to above, Sun-N-Fun is in the midst of a long slow decline.
They have questionable safety practices as well, while I realize this is one-sided, check the following articles for a concerned view:
Aero-News Network: The Aviation and Aerospace World's Daily/Real-Time News and Information Service (http://www.aero-news.net/news/sport.cfm?ContentBlockID=42c29341-1375-4fc1-a1a7-68444e7def36&Dynamic=1)
Aero-News Network: The Aviation and Aerospace World's Daily/Real-Time News and Information Service (http://www.aero-news.net/news/sport.cfm?ContentBlockID=973052D9-31ED-4127-BD92-ACEBEDE0F4E9&Dynamic=1)
Aero-News Network: The Aviation and Aerospace World's Daily/Real-Time News and Information Service (http://aero-news.net/Community/DiscussTopic.cfm?TopicID=13657&Refresh=1)
The "response" page is here: Jim Campbell Investigation (http://www.silverstatenews.com/0_ANN_Rocket_Racing_League/Jim_Campbell_Page/index.htm)
Tell me how professional that is.

Do you want to support an organization that involves itself in such public spitting matches?

[VH-XXX]

Typical American tripe.

Over here the PILOT determines the runway based on their requirements.

[Plow King]

Thanks for the input guys, definitely some food for thought.

M14P, although I would go back to Oshkosh in a heartbeat (and am planning to in 2012), we were just looking for something different. Since the last trip, two little kids have be added to the equation, so proximity to Disneyworld was a major factor (funnily enough, the 3 weeks away isn't just about me looking at aeroplanes). Also, the wife's holidays are locked in for April/May, so that seals the deal. (If the holidays were earlier, Wanaka was on the cards).

I'm not expecting SnF to be as good as Oshkosh; anyone who has ever been there knows that there is nothing like it in the world. In '05 we went for 5 days, and immeadiately regreted not going for the whole 7, but that makes us want to back even more. The great thing about Airventure is the accessibilty; being able to get right up close to everything, no big crowds, and the relaxed atmosphere. I could never have imagined how good it was going to be.