SUN 'N FUN '78 •:'X:i:. '•; IH I \,,-.(,::-:- • ••»**' sr «?*!' «--.«j *!*N*te-. ' fiiw. 4^; ••*» " ~ ,r t = ^ ^ -..-.,. .,, : 'A:. « f»: *s«7 •' , ' - t • - ^ ...v~ (Photo by Bill Ehlen) Sun 'N Fun exhibit area and campground. Show plane parking is just to the left of this view. The Piper plant is at the top left. By Jack Cox (Photos By The Author Unless Otherwise Credited) o',F THE FLY-INS I cover during the course of each day . from a Milwaukee that had not seen a day above year, Sun 'N Fun is different in one respect. When I freezing for almost a month. During the day we would get back to the office in Wisconsin, the first thing the rest meet Floridians at the airport complaining about the of the staff want is a weather report . and then they "cold." That evening we would go back to the motel, ask about the airplanes. switch on the TV, watch scenes of wintery devastation as Visit Wisconsin in January sometime and you'll under- the worst blizzard in anyone's memory plastered home stand why! country . and thank our lucky stars we were here in- Well, everything is relative, as they say. The first three stead of there!! It was easy to spot the Yankees on the days at Lakeland were sunny and pleasant, the tempera- field the next day . we were the ones with the wide ture in the low 80s on Wednesday. That night, however, smiles. a cold front roared through, dropping the daytime highs End of weather report. into the 50s for the rest of the week. Some stiff winds on When the Headquarters crew flew in on Sunday after- Thursday and Friday lowered the chill factor to a point noon, Sun 'N Fun was already off and running. We count- that a warm coat was a must. It remained sunny through- ed 54 showplanes on the line as we taxied in. I recall out the period nevertheless and wasn't bad at all on Sat- thinking that a lot of people must have had the same idea urday and Sunday after the winds died down. we did - slip in early between weather systems and avoid Now, remember, the foregoing is from the vantage being caught by the ubiquitous stalled front at the point of one only lately removed from a Wisconsin stag- Georgia/Florida border. While still in the pattern we also gering under some 50 inches of snow since Thanksgiving noticed that the campground was nearly full and that a 36 APRIL 1978 lot of white Florida sand had been exposed since last - and I do mean promptly. When the air show ends, the year's fly-in. place is like a small town that rolls up its streets at sun- Once on the ground, the effort expended by the week- down and goes home to relax. Everyone (except the end work parties held during 1977 was even more evident. campers, of course) seems ready to head off for his motel Full grown palm trees had been transplanted, flower and an early dinner. This may well be due to the fact that beds had been made, new aircraft parking areas had been Lakeland has a number of truly excellent restaurants . graded and seeded, a shower house had been built in with very reasonable prices. One rather remarkable es- the original campground and a new camping area had tablishment located near the airport is such a favorite of been opened up. Further, the existing auto parking lot Sun 'N Funners that if you wait until, say, 7:30 or so you had been enlarged and a new one cleared. A lot of new will get a reservation number in the 250 to 300 range. And fencing had been installed and permanent flag poles that's any night of the week. erected so as to fly the banners of Florida EAA Chapters Then there are the evening corn roasts - for those who as well as the state flag and Old Glory. The first stages stay at the airport until 6:30 or so. It's still growing season of clearing of additional palmetto tangle had been accom- in south Florida, if you wonder where they get the corn. plished by Rocky Sawyer and his hardy crew of volun- A Sun 'N Fun feature that particularly impressed me teers . and during a "jungle tour" later in the week we was a daily schedule of guided tours of the flightline for learned this would include a new, more convenient en- non-EAA members. Volunteers took groups of ten to trance road, possibly open for use next year. twenty "civilians" in tow, walked them up and down the It may be of some value to others of you who are plan- rows of homebuilts, antiques and classics, stopping to ning or are in the process of developing fly-in sites to identify and relate some anecdote concerning nearly know that the Florida Chapters have formed a fly-in cor- every airplane. It was a long walk down to the Warbird poration to manage Sun 'N Fun and that the land is area, but most of the groups still had enough enthusiasm leased from the local governmental body on the same to ask to be taken to see the Canadian Warplane Heri- basis as for all other airport lessees. This way the money tage's B-25, Tom Holman's Thunderbolt and the usual and effort poured out to develop the fly-in site can't sud- braces of Mustangs, T-6s, etc. The tours were extremely denly be taken away at the whim of some local politi- effective public relations tools and undoubtedly were a cian. From the beginning Sun 'N Fun has been a local factor in the recruiting of 135 new EAA members over EAA effort to develop an EAA Fly-In. The Floridians have the duration of the fly-in. I eavesdropped on the tour maintained their independence from local government, guides a couple of times and it seemed to me they were civic organizations, etc. so that now that they have a getting a kick out of their jobs. They certainly were giving successful-operation, they owe no one a slice of the pie. sport aviation a shining new image among the public This is the way the national EAA organization was de- who came out to see what Sun 'N Fun was all about. veloped and is the way all local and regional fly-ins should go. GATHERING OF EAGLES, ETC. As we've stated before, Sun 'N Fun is patterned very Three events of note were held in conjunction with closely after Oshkosh. Many of the chairmen work at the fly-in this year: the Gathering of Eagles at the local Oshkosh each summer in the same areas for which they Armory - in which pilots who flew before 1936 were hon- are responsible back home in January. The public ad- ored; the Ground Loop Party and Style Show put on by dress system, the Interview Circle and a portion of the the women of EAA (also held at the Armory) and the air show announcing, for instance, are manned by the Awards Party program held at the fabulous new Lakeland same team - Roscoe Morton and Willie Ropp. Sun 'N Fun Civic Center on Saturday night. Each event was well at- sounds exactly like Oshkosh. tended and added a bit of sparkle to the nightlife of the The schedule of each day's activities is also much the week. same - designated fly-by periods for aircraft of different Piper plant tours were also popular again this year, speeds that go on throughout the day until air show time keeping shuttle busses on the go between the fly-in site at 3:00 p.m. and a forum and workshop schedule extend- and the sprawling facility where Piper cranks out the Na- ing from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. There are, of course, a vajo. number of happenings peculiar only to Sun 'N Fun. For one, the day's formal activities end promptly at 5:00 p.m. «' 1 Leonard McGinty of Thonotosassa, riorida, Sun 'N Fun General Chair- Lyle Flagg of Brandon, Florida, Sun 'N Gordon Knapp of Tampa, Sun 'N Fun man. Fun General Chairman. General Chairman. SPORT A VI ATI ON 37 . Duffy Thompson, left, and Lyle Flagg, Sun 'N Fun Convention Chairman Rocky Sawyer of Lakeland, Sun 'N Sun 'N Fun General Chairmen. Billy Henderson of Lakeland, Florida. Fun General Chairman. addition there were the usual Fairchilds, Stearmans, THE SHOWPLANES Bellancas, pre-war Luscombes, Pipers, Aeroncas, Taylor- As in previous years, Sun 'N Fun '78 had an excellent crafts, etc. Something for almost every interest. turnout of Classics. Red Smith's beautiful red and white Of particular note was Ernie Moser's newly restored Stinson 108 repeated as Grand Champion this year, but Waco CTO. This is the plane in which Johnny Livingston the competition was stiff. Following the new judging for- won the 1929 Transcontinental Derby and which was in mat for Classics instituted by the EAA's Antique-Classic the EAA Museum collection until last year. Ernie has put Division, these 20 to 30 year old ATCed types are now di- the famous old Waco back in show condition, will display vided into two groups, standard (or "restored") and cus- it at shows around the country and will eventually return tom Classics. Standards are aircraft restored to near fac- it to the Museum. tory original configuration, paint schemes, markings, Another rare bird was Morton Lester's Howard etc.