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By Jim Caniff
This year my trip to Sun n Fun was a little different than in years past. Normally I get there a few days before the actual event start. This year I got there the afternoon of the event start (Tuesday, April 9). The reason for this inexcusable tardiness – I stayed in Plano to watch and photo the eclipse! And it was worth it!
This change of schedule meant I had less time to check out individual aircraft and other points of interest. Also the effort needed by the General Aviation Parking group I volunteer with was up this year as several key members could not be there. The ravages of time do not relent. So the report will be in broader terms than other years; hope you enjoy.
Fly-in aircraft attendance was not record breaking but I would say fair. I have not seen any specific numbers but there was still ground available in the parking and camping areas.
Last year Sun n Fun introduced a kind of services/entertainment/meeting area called the “Island”. The location is across the Echo taxiway from the camping areas and homebuilt parking. It has several food vendors, a sort of general store, a pilot info tent and an entertainment area. It appeared to be somewhat underused in 2023. Not so in 2024, it appears the idea caught on. When ever I went past it there was a crowd. It is functional. I went into the store for sunblock and the info tent to get the guest WiFi
password. It was very handy. On the weekend nights there was live entertainment and also adult beverages are available. There are also two other establishments just west of Island that will equally satisfy the thirst. Las Vegas has The Strip, New Orleans has Bourbon Street and Sun n Fun has taxiway Echo. Whoda thunk?
In this picture towards the left there is something that looks like a light pole. It is actually a WiFi antenna and service was available free all over the Sun n Fun campus. And it actually worked. An improvement over last year.
There are two groups that attend Sun n Fun. One is the pilot or aviation professional who is there to see the aviation related exhibits in the hangars and large display areas. The other is the airshow and military aircraft spectator. How do you tell the difference? The pilot group does NOT generally have a child in tow. The two groups do not get in each others way as the spectators are at the airshow line or military planes and the pilots are in the hangar exhibits. I do not have numbers but it appeared both groups were there in greater numbers this year. It seemed like the hangars were more crowded than in the past few years. This is certainly good for the exhibitors.
It may appear that the crowd in front of Aircraft Spruce was a little sparse, but I waited until it cleared a little to get the photo. Look down towards the end of the hangar and it shows how it could actually be a little difficult to walk around the exhibits.
The spectator crowd was just a sea of people. I gave up on trying to get into the warbird ramp as maneuvering the golf cart through the crowd was daunting at best. The other problem was the cart had a “How May I Help You” sign on its front windscreen and this was a constant invitation for people looking for well, help. I gave rides to a half dozen groups. This is part of our mission as volunteers.
The daily airshow was great as usual. This year the featured act was the USAF Thunderbirds. There were not one but two “heritage” flights. One Navy and one Air Force representative. One of the more interesting aircraft to fly in the airshow was a VC-121A, a military version of the Constellation airliner. This particular aircraft was the personal transport for Gen. Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War. It was named “Bataan” when in service to the general.
Another plane of note was the warbird C-47 “Placid Lassie”. The plane is a real veteran of the D-Day invasion. This C-47 is scheduled to cross the Atlantic again in May help celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Normandy invasion in 1944.
While the day airshow was good the night airshow was spectacular.
Before the fireworks were the Titan (formerly Aeroshell) AT-6 team, Manfred Radius in his sailplane , well lit powered parachutes and a Long EZ shooting colored pyros. Along with the fireworks there were large fire ball pyrotechnics. In the background of all of this were several hundred drones doing intricate formations. I have seen a fair share day and night airshows but this was a cut above all. Definitely worth seeing.
Some final notes on Sun n Fun 2024:
It was a very safe event. In the time I was there no accidents or incidents occurred.
Over 560 exhibitors were present at the event. In my brief time walking through the exhibits it seemed more aviation related and less jewelry and furniture.
This was the 50th anniversary for the event. Sun n Fun is is making the experience for the guest, the pilot and the volunteer more enjoyable. There was free Wi-Fi all over the campus. There were charging stations in abundance.
There were new areas opened for the first time this year. One is called the “Hangar” and is a theater facility. They ran a couple of movies this year but there are more events planned for next year.
The other new area is the “Future and Flight Plaza”. This is career and education exhibit area that has flight school, aviation education and airline career showcases. It is in an area that used to host a car show, probably a better use for the land.
The one item that would be good if participation increased is number of GA aircraft flying in. I have not found exact numbers but the parking areas were not full. While certainly have been changes to the parking and camping areas at this time they are as
functional as they were 20 years ago, just different.
So if you are looking for fun place to fly next April give Sun n Fun a look. We have a parking spot for you, hope to see you there.
