Sun n Fun fly-inn Florida
 

I'm planning to visit Sun 'n Fun in Florida end of March 2011 from Dubai, UAE. This is my first visit to the show. Have been to Air venture before, but not sure what to expect...

Planning 3 days at Sun n Fun and 1 day at Fantasy of flight near Orlando.

All comments more than welcome.

We've been to both. FoF is interesting. I really enjoyed looking at the variety of aircraft although it's a bit 'tourist theme park' in some respects. The EAA museum is a bit more to my taste: Put the stuff on display & give me lots of information. Not saying that FoF doesn't but the diarama stuff isn't my thing.

If you drive to S & F make sure you arrive *early*. The car park fills quite quickly, leaving a trudge & queue to get in. We arrived about 30-60 mins before opening and parked right at the entrance.

Flying in is really fun. Don't fly in too late in the morning or all parking spots on the accessible side of the airshowdisplay line will be taken and you'll be parked a *loooong* way from anywhere + will not be able to access your aircraft until the airshow is over. Only after the flight display ends are you allowed beyond the line to pre-flight & go - hence early-ish arrival so you get parked on the accessible side.

It's a real scrum to go once the whistle blows. Handy if you've already been able to preflight and are sitting there ready to start. Still will have a long taxi but the volunteers & ATC are very well organised. Be patient & follow the directions.

There's a NOTAM about S&F procedures that explains things. It's really not that hard but you can't be slack about things. I found it a fun & enjoyable challenge different from my usual flying. My wife loved being a pax up front and seeing how it all worked.

Her biggest impression was the scrum to leave: It's just like the end of a large sporting event only with aircraft instead of cars.

It'll be my first time there too, but I'm planning to fly in the 2000 miles from L.A. and camp there. I get the impression that the final weekend is fairly quiet as people drift away. Hoping to fly down to Key West for a bit of sight seeing. I see the Blue Angels are lined up to display, usually a good display.
I've just spent today shooting approaches and getting my IR current, but hoping not to need it.

The advice I've had is take plenty of sun-screen and a rain-coat.

Lots of sunscreen. Comfortable walking shoes too. Broad brimmed hat is a good idea & a small backpack for the inevitable junk you collect from vendors. Water bottle as well. There's plenty of food & drink for sale but it's a lot more convenient to be able to sip when you want instead of joining yet another queue to buy something to drink.

Don't forget your camera!

3rd time visit to this event this year !

1st and 2nd days are best , mass arrivals. Thurs Splash In at Fantasy Of Flight a must. Friday not a bad day. Dont go sunday as their wont be much left behind to look at - waste of time.

Good walking boots and blister plasters a must :ok: