Questions from a Sun 'n Fun first-timer

Martin Pauly

Martin Pauly

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Martin Pauly
For people that have done Sun 'n Fun with camping on the field before, what are some of the recommendations you have for a first-timer like me? Things you wish you had brought along? Things you brought along and ended up not needing?

There are a few practical questions I have:
  • How do people shop for supplies, e.g. are there nearby groceries stores or convenience stores, and how do you get there?
  • Are there places to charge batteries for phones, cameras, etc.?
  • I read in the FAQ that bicycles are not allowed on the field. Is that enforced? I was thinking of bringing mine to be mobile, if not on the field then at least around it - but if I can't at least walk my bike to the gates (and then ride outside the airport), I might as well leave it at home.
  • I'll probably arrive early in the week. Once I'm parked, can I get the plane out for a fun flight and return to my site afterwards? Or am stuck until I'm ready to leave for good?
Thanks in advance for your help.

- Martin
 
Martin Pauly said:
For people that have done Sun 'n Fun with camping on the field before, what are some of the recommendations you have for a first-timer like me? Things you wish you had brought along? Things you brought along and ended up not needing?
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Have you ever been to Oshkosh?
 
You can rent those little handicapped 4 wheel scooters and buzz around, there were a ton of them last year, you need to be careful walking, most of them don't drive so well.
 
Martin,
I'll be following your thread for suggestions since I too am planning on flying down for a night and haven't been to SnF. I'll probably be attending Thursday and Friday. I've spent a fair share of time at Osh and I can't image it will be too much different. The biggest things I presume are hydration and plenty of Sun block since I too am from the Midwest.
 
I will take a shot. I go every year for the last 7 or 8 years but only camped out once under my Arrow.

1. The campground has a little general store. Other than that Google Maps is your friend.
2. I imagine so. The campground has a common shower area, could likely do it there. Also charging stations in the SnF show itself.
3. My guess is leave the bike at home. You can Uber to a store if you need to.
4. Not sure that would work. Getting in and out of SnF is a hassle and no one is guaranteed to hold your spot for you, IMO.
 
I've only been once, last yr from Louisburg, NC. Once you park you are there til you fly out. I brought drinks and snacks to keep at my plane/tent. I brought my portable jump starter which has air pump (luckily not needed) and a usb port to charge my phone each night. Plenty of food to buy and eat while walking around the show. Lots of people brought there own grills and food to cook at the plane in the eve. Bring your own tiedowns. I brought ropes, 3 two foot steel spikes, and a 24 oz framing hammer to drive them. Sold my Cherokee 180 so didn't go this yr.
 
2Airtime2 said:
I've only been once, last yr from Louisburg, NC. Once you park you are there til you fly out. I brought drinks and snacks to keep at my plane/tent. I brought my portable jump starter which has air pump (luckily not needed) and a usb port to charge my phone each night. Plenty of food to buy and eat while walking around the show. Lots of people brought there own grills and food to cook at the plane in the eve. Bring your own tiedowns. I brought ropes, 3 two foot steel spikes, and a 24 oz framing hammer to drive them. Sold my Cherokee 180 so didn't go this yr.
Click to expand...

Kinda late to need — Sun-n-fun was 2 weeks ago
 
Martin Pauly said:
My flight to Sun ‘n Fun was a bit adventurous. I just finished this video about what happened.
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What day was this? I was going to go up on Tuesday but cancelled for weather. Wednesday looked good but I could not get the planned a/c and my back-up had developed an issue over the weekend.
 
As I mention on your Youtube channel:

KDPnctc.png
 
Martin Pauly said:
This was on Tuesday.
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Yeah, if I had gone up on Tuesday, it would have been before 9AM as I was planning to overnight with friends in Lake Wales, just 22nm away. I would have missed the closures but the weather would have been worse, TAFs showed low IFR for early morning, IIRC.
 
Hi Martin. How would you answer your first timer questions now that you’ve done it once?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Mike Gagnon said:
Hi Martin. How would you answer your first timer questions now that you’ve done it once?
Click to expand...
Timely question, as I am getting ready for my SECOND time at Sun 'n Fun.
So, resurrecting my questions from a year ago:
  • How do people shop for supplies, e.g. are there nearby groceries stores or convenience stores, and how do you get there?
    There is a little store on the campground which has some essential supplies, e.g. water/soda, bags of ice, batteries, toothpaste, snacks, etc.
    Beyond that little store, I found the food offering on the field to be alright - lots of different food trucks offer quite a variety of food. It's not restaurant quality, but I found it much better than AirVenture where all food places seem to have the same menu. I did not try to find a nearby groceries store - just didn't need one.

  • Are there places to charge batteries for phones, cameras, etc.?
    The shower house has outlets, but what was even better was I had a neighbor two planes down from me with a Honda generator which he generously allowed us to share. Another neighbor had a neat little self-contained battery pack with USB outlets and even an inverter for 110V AC power; I have since then bought one of those for myself and used it in Oshkosh.

  • I read in the FAQ that bicycles are not allowed on the field. Is that enforced? I was thinking of bringing mine to be mobile, if not on the field then at least around it - but if I can't at least walk my bike to the gates (and then ride outside the airport), I might as well leave it at home.
    My bike was of some value, but not much. I'm not sure I would bring it again. There are tons of golf carts zipping around all the time, and you can hitch a ride from then. Or use the shuttles. The one longer enjoyable ride I did was to the Hilton on the other side of the field, for the ABS dinner.

  • I'll probably arrive early in the week. Once I'm parked, can I get the plane out for a fun flight and return to my site afterwards? Or am stuck until I'm ready to leave for good?
    I did not try to get my plane out. Not sure how I could have indicated to the ground crew that I had a camping spot already set up; also, it would have been tricky to taxi out and back in given that my tent was there. Maybe there is a way, but I will just plan on staying put again this year.
Other things I learned last year:
  • Don't count on the published airport closing times for flying in or departing. They can and will deviate from those, as I experienced in my "Lost over Lakeland" video.
  • Bring sunscreen and foam ear plugs. The airshow gets loud. Very loud.
  • The whole week went by in a flash. I arrived Tuesday and left Sunday. I couldn't believe it was over already. I didn't want to leave.
  • If you are staying on the field overnight, check out Coconut Flyers - I hope they are there again this year. It's the one place that's open late. Food and drinks for free-will donations. A great place to wind down after a long day and meet other people.
  • It seems more relaxed than Oshkosh.
Here is my video review of Sun 'n Fun 2019. You can tell from the title that I had a good time:

 
I'm doing it this year, flying down, be in either Tuesday or Wednesday.
 
I'll be there for the full week. Hope to see some PoAers there.
 
Thanks for the info. We're planning our first time attending, expecting to spend the full week. Working on a packing list now and will take any advice available from those with some experience. A couple of other questions from your first post that didn't really get much response:

Things you wish you had brought along?
Things you brought along and ended up not needing?

Sounds like the bike may be something you didn't find you needed. Anything else on your "do bring" or "don't bother" list?

Thanks!
 
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