It’s a Wrap: Sun ‘N Fun Sunsets for 27th Time

A palpable sense of melancholy permeated much of the EAA Sun 'n Fun Fly-In grounds Saturday as the realization hit the final few thousand on the emptying grounds that another chapter in the annual event was nearing its final hour. It seemed only moments earlier that thousands of airplanes filled the vast expanses of green fields, dew glittered off wings and tips and spinners each dawn, while the ramps, buildings and taxiways crowded with the people who came to share in the spring celebration of flight. And after Monday's rare fatal accident, the rest of the gathering proceeded safely to its end.

Approximately 645,000 passed through the gates, Sun 'n Fun president John Burton told AVweb Saturday afternoon during a brief conversation as he patrolled the grounds by golf cart, visiting with departing vendors, thanking volunteers and saying farewell to old friends and new. "We still have to crunch some numbers, but it looks like that's about the right number," Burton said.

Compared with the 26th's attendance of 679,000, the 2001 Sun 'n Fun was down about 5 percent, an official estimate that concurred with the instincts and observations of long-time Sun 'n Fun veterans. The cause of the decline generated speculation, as well, with instincts ranging from the confluence of show week with Holy Week to the waves of intimidating weather elsewhere in the U.S. that prompted waves of departures from the show even Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

"I'd planned on staying at least until Saturday morning to soak up as much as I could," said one first-time attendee from the Midwest area. "And I really hate having to leave before it's over," the pilot said coming out of Sun 'n Fun's busiest-in-the-nation Flight Service Station Thursday morning. But looking at the weather, he explained, it seemed smarter for him to get out earlier, shoot for a point about halfway home, and let the storms pass while he hunkered down overnight. We agreed to keep his name out of this so his co-workers in aviation wouldn't know how he'd spent his vacation until he walks back in to the office Tuesday afternoon. "Most of them would have tied themselves to a wing to come with me," the pilot quipped. "Most of them have never been and once I tell them about it, they'll likely be competition for getting this week off next year," he said, smiling as he started the long walk back to his plane. "They'll have to get past me, first."

And so departed another convert.

For the quality of the weather alone, the 27th Sun 'n Fun was an event to behold. My closest friend described it as "the best of Florida weather," an observation difficult to dispute. Early in the show, a striking full moon rose shortly after dusk, as if chasing to catch up with old Sol. Toward the end of the week, sunrise and sunset came and went with no pursuer. Yes, daytime temperatures did reach the upper 80s. Yes, the humidity slowed many who ventured down from colder climes and weren't used to it. For some, the combination seemed insufferable; for others, the warmth was a welcome alternative to the cold and snow chilling the folks still at home. Folks from both sides of the equation made the lemonade-stand business a brisk one.

But it was hard to fault the overall experience, particularly out among the campsites, scattered from Paradise City to vintage and general aviation camping or to the overnight camping area for one-day transients. The warm, popcorn-clouded days gave way to color-rich sunsets and brought balmy, cool nights, conducive to socializing across the expansive campgrounds. And all week, it seemed as if the night mists gathered in their own convention to drift across silent grounds in their own private hours looking at the various airplanes before escaping the eyes of the fly-in village's residents.

The overall experience was different for the few thousand working the exhibit areas. After weeks of bad business press about the economy and Wall Street, it was only natural to wonder whether the media malaise might make for an atmosphere of customer constraint. As the first major consumer opportunity during the days of Dow Syndrome, Sun 'n Fun could be the business barometer the aviation industry needed to sense whether the sickness was contagious.

And then to contend with the higher temperatures and breezes fickle and faint inside the four metal commercial buildings, the visual evidence wasn't exactly encouraging. The heat of humanity combined with the solar preheating to limit visitations largely to swift-strolling window shoppers - and the vendors' favorite sight: the serious, motivated buyer.

The dominance of real buyers within the lighter traffic load generated considerable gratitude, even relief, among the vendors contractually and duty-bound to tend to their tables. "The crowds have been good crowds, even though they seem smaller," observed one avionics-company representative during a brief break in his demonstration duties. "At times we've had them as deep as at Oshkosh or NBAA, but most of them haven't been hanging around long," the sales rep related. "Then later, when the show's on out there and it's at it's hottest in here, they come back. And they want to take something home. No complaints from me about business here ... but we sure could use some ceiling fans in here; then, who knows how good business might be," he added.

Airframe makers of the factory persuasion echoed the observations of the gadget vendors, lest you think this sample of several rosy observations reflects the experiences of only the small-ticket sellers. The faces consistently broke into smiles upon being asked how well business was going at the fly-in. This was true at plane makers ranging from AMD to Aviat, Cessna to Cirrus, Lancair to New Piper, Mooney and Raytheon, as well as across the vast range of kitplane and ultralight makers at the booths of Rans Inc., CGS Aviation, Kolb and Loehle, Quicksilver, and the vast collection of powered parachute makes and hang-glider-like trike producers.

In other words, times may be tough on Wall Street, but business was booming in Lakeland. Of course, we'd never doubt the word of a salesman about how well business is going, right? Absolutely not, particularly when these faces you know so well couldn't keep a poker face holding only a pair of deuces, let alone a royal flush.

Besides, for supporting evidence you needed only to watch the shuttles fill with prospects headed for demo flights at Plant City and South Lakeland airports and later see some of those same faces coming out of the RV or private office, smiling, purchase papers in hand. With the variety of airplanes continuing to grow, the combination seems to point toward a continuing expansion in the population of pilots ready to become owners, and owners ready to move up - or down, as the case may be.

And depending on how faithfully the FAA reflects community hopes for the Sport Pilot/Sport Airplane proposal when it finally arrives, the field of options for joining that community could offer an even wider choice of flying opportunities next year.

Arriving two days before Sunday's opening day allowed some surprising observations even before turning into the downwind for Runway 9R, such as a west-end general aviation camping area already spilling into the overflow area along the north side of 9L, my favorite spot in the main campground already filled beyond overflowing - both more than a day ahead of usual. The same was true in the vintage airplane parking area, in custom planes, and in Paradise City and across to the far east end of Sun 'n Fun at Chopper Town.

Casual observations may differ some from the official tally, but it appeared that the 27th edition of Sun 'n Fun differed little from the 26th, when it took more than 4,700 volunteers to handle the hordes who arrived from 50 states and 90 countries, when air traffic movements exceeded 53,000, when show planes tallied nearly 2,000 and several thousand other aircraft filled every nook and cranny of Lakeland-Linder Regional Airport. The efforts of the volunteers again ran into the tens of thousands of hours.

That part of Sun 'n Fun appeared unchanged. But changes existed and more are in the works. Recently, the boards of Sun 'n Fun EAA Fly-In Inc., and the Sun 'n Fun Aviation Foundation brought a change in management for the two not-for-profit entities. Bill Eickhoff, the 27-year Sun 'n Fun volunteer and 15-year president of both organizations, was named chairman of the new board. John Burton, who came to Sun 'n Fun from the EAA after AirVenture 1999, was named president. A new chief financial officer and director of programs have been created. And the earnest business of putting the new organization on a sound financial footing is underway.

New corporate sponsorships - by Exxon Mobile, Trade-A-Plane and Outback Steakhouse - provided the strongest indications of the shifting approach to underwriting some of the show's ongoing costs. Other indications included new "sky suites" erected judiciously out of the way of spectators lacking the VIP passes needed to gain entry. And the effort to attract sponsorships and the attending revenues continues, as attested to by an ad in the official program: "Wanted - Sun 'n Fun On-Site Shuttle Advertisers."

More subtle changes to the show grounds and commercial displays improved the flow of the foot-bound through the grounds and more changes are under consideration, Burton told AVweb. "We're going to look at how well things worked this year and what we can fine tune for the future," he said.

But at its core, Sun 'n Fun remained its fundamental fun self. The atmosphere of elation in aviation prevailed, from the daily afternoon air show, the post-show ultralight exhibition, or the evening main-campground corn roast. The same celebratory atmosphere permeated the boisterous owners' parties in Paradise City, as well as the Ground Loop party for Sun 'n Fun volunteers Thursday evening and the Friday night Ultralight Blow Out - complete with the Lost Patrol Band zooming through some popular favorites.

We even got some icing for our cake, rare treats like the Tuesday night aerobatics display, a couple of surprise morning fly-bys by an F-117 Stealth Fighter, and Bruce Bohannon's apparently successful absolute-altitude record-setting run. As of Friday, word from various sources indicated that the temperature at FL340 by 1:00 p.m. Tuesday was indeed warmer than at 7 a.m., hot enough to make Bruce's record a lock - pending NAA and FAI anointment, of course.

There are few places where you can walk into an ultralight vendor's RV to find EAA founder and Hall of Fame member Paul Poberezny in an animated visit with an Ultralight Hall of Fame inductee like Chuck Sluzarczyk, and turn a corner and encounter Larry Newman, a member of the first balloon crew to cross the Atlantic, and turn another corner and meet a former WASP pilot like Florence Shutsy-Reynolds or a veteran of the Tuskegee Airman, or some other pioneer of aviation. Sun 'n Fun is one of them.

A week without rain or storm, a week without uncharacteristically hot days or cold nights, a week of celebrating flight by people who celebrate aviation with every takeoff, a week with takeoffs by the thousands per day. You shoulda been there to enjoy it with us.

As much as we hate to see it end, we headed for home knowing that there'll be another Sun 'n Fun, the 28th, next April 7 - 13, and once again just in time to again help us shake off the winter blahs and bask in the warmth of flight-inspired friendships renewed.

If past is prologue, you won't want to miss that one. If we miss seeing you here next time, it won't be because we didn't make it. In the meantime, see ya on the airways.