Sun 'n Fun 2023

Arnold

Arnold

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Arnold
Giving serious consideration to attending. Would fly Lady Luscombe and camp. Any other POA ers going? Any comments or suggestions based on prior experience. Should I just say no and go to Belize?
 
I went for the day a couple years ago. It was during "Peak COVID", so some exhibitors did not attend. Got through it in a day, stayed for the airshow and left when it ended. Did not attend any workshops, which might have justified a day or two more. Got a good deal on oil and obviously no shipping. Bought some stuff from Spruce, for same reason. Smartest purchase was a case of Oil filters. Long before the shortage, but still have a couple left. Getting in and out seemed easy enough.
 
Hang 4 said:
I went for the day a couple years ago. It was during "Peak COVID", so some exhibitors did not attend. Got through it in a day, stayed for the airshow and left when it ended. Did not attend any workshops, which might have justified a day or two more. Got a good deal on oil and obviously no shipping. Bought some stuff from Spruce, for same reason. Smartest purchase was a case of Oil filters. Long before the shortage, but still have a couple left. Getting in and out seemed easy enough.
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Thanks
 
Both Sun N Fun and Belize can be really really fun. They are somewhat different events, however!

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I’ve never been either. Would like to at some point. It’s twice the distance (cost) as OSH, so I’ve skipped.

If anyone has room for for an extra hitchhiker from southern Indiana, let me know.


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Can you commercial into Lakeland that week or would I be better off going to Tampa?
 
I don't think there are any commercial flights to Lakeland. TPA, MCO would be options.
 
Alright then.
Looks like me and Eren are going to go to Sun n Fun for the first time.
We are just going to go for the weekend Fri, Sat, Sun
I mentioned it to her and she said "can I go?" which means it is happening.

So we have SnF, Rough River, and Airventure on the calendar!
 
Have been to OSH 5-6 times, but have never been to SnF. Is there a way to to an objective comparison of the two or are they different beasts entirely? My boys (11 and 9) REALLY enjoyed OSH last year, so I wouldn't mind making a day or two trip down from ATL area if stars align and it's worth the effort.

Thoughts? Is SnF more vendor focused, or is there enough "ooh and ahh" stuff to look at to keep a couple of kids semi-interested?
 
I go the S&F about every year. Having been so many times at this point we fly down Saturday morning, camp one night and fly back Sunday after the show. It’s enough. That’s the plan for this year too.
@CJones your boys would enjoy a couple of days. Plenty of ooh and ahh stuff if they like aviation at all.
 
Lance F said:
I go the S&F about every year. Having been so many times at this point we fly down Saturday morning, camp one night and fly back Sunday after the show. It’s enough. That’s the plan for this year too.
@CJones your boys would enjoy a couple of days. Plenty of ooh and ahh stuff if they like aviation at all.
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Thanks. We may do something similar as a weekend trip.

They came back after OSH last year downloading 'all the things' for XPlane, so I would like to keep the flames fanned as long as possible.
 
We volunteer at both Osh and Sun’n Fun (we’re local, 30 min, to Sun’n Fun and drive in). Sun’n Fun is a miniature Osh so everything is similar but smaller in scale, sometimes significantly so. I say this for expectation management if you have been to Osh before. That said, the great thing about Sun’n Fun is location, so there’s a ton to do besides the event itself— Disney, Universal, Busch Gardens, and Kennedy Space Center to name just a few. If it were me I’d tack Sun’n Fun onto a larger vacation if you have the time and funds. But Sun’n Fun by itself can still be an awesome time.
 
I'll be there all week. It's a nice excuse to go somewhere warm and nice after months of cold weather at home.

SNF is much smaller than Oshkosh but has many of the same ingredients. Exhibitors, airshow, lots of airplanes to drool over, educational sessions, and - most importantly - lots of like-minded people.

- Martin
 
i really don't recommend sunday. most the planes have flown out by then and the vendors are packing it up. sunday is mostly a drive in,non aviation crowd that comes for the airshow. try to go earlier in the week.
 
I liked it netter when it ran something like Sat-Sun...two weekends

I've been to SNF many times, Airventure a few
My biggest takeaway is that the presentations and classes are fewer... or maybe less famous and flashy anyway
I've seen some big name folks talk at Airventure.... and there's occasionally some of that at SNF it's much less I think...
I guess the same can be said about static display aircraft too. Last year for example the warbird area was nearly vacant my 1st day there. The next day several military aircraft arrived though along with a few warbird examples so there was something to look at but not nearly the squadrons of the same types you'll see at Airventure..... I remember row after row of P-51's for example at airventure, while there's maybe a couple at sun n fun depending on the day....
 
If OSH is Disney World, SNF is a state fair: smaller, a little less expensive, greasier food, not as clean. It’s still lots of fun.

The forums are much smaller. Most are air conditioned.
 
SNF is a local event for me so I drive over. I prefer to go during the week when the crowds are a bit smaller. This year I’ll likely go Tue and/or Wed depending on the weather.

Last year the Tbirds performed on the weekend, so this year it should be the Blues. Lots of shiny flying objects to see, decent airshow, many vendors. Some stuff gets sold at greatly reduced prices on the last day, btw.

The workshops I attended were only fair at best.
 
OneCharlieTango said:
If OSH is Disney World, SNF is a state fair: smaller, a little less expensive, greasier food, not as clean. It’s still lots of fun.

The forums are much smaller. Most are air conditioned.
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Regarding food: SNF has a lot more diversity here than Oshkosh. In Lakeland they'll bring in a ton of different food trucks offering a lot of variety. EAA (with few exceptions) has full control over the food, and all their locations have the same menu. Not all bad, but it gets boring after a few days.

- Martin
 
Martin Pauly said:
Regarding food: SNF has a lot more diversity here than Oshkosh. In Lakeland they'll bring in a ton of different food trucks offering a lot of variety. EAA (with few exceptions) has full control over the food, and all their locations have the same menu. Not all bad, but it gets boring after a few days.

- Martin
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Osh is getting better. Bedsides the EAA controlled sites which IMO have gotten better over the past few years, there was at least 8 or so by my count non-EAA food trucks at Osh last year, plus Chik-Fil-A. However, also IMO neither Osh nor Sun'n-Fun is anything to write home about food wise.
 
tsts4 said:
However, also IMO neither Osh nor Sun'n-Fun is anything to write home about food wise.
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I agree with that. When staying more than a couple of days, it's a good idea to go off the field into town for a few of the meals.

- Martin
 
Had some good bbq at SNF but other food was sorta blah fairground quality.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Alright then.
Looks like me and Eren are going to go to Sun n Fun for the first time.
We are just going to go for the weekend Fri, Sat, Sun
I mentioned it to her and she said "can I go?" which means it is happening.

So we have SnF, Rough River, and Airventure on the calendar!
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That is a good wife, you should keep her.
 
I'm thinking about going and probably getting a few hrs of flying wed arriving Thursday. Sun n Fun is definitely not an all week event like Osh Of course, this all depends on the weather, since flying from PA/MD
 
Since KLAL is an Amazon hub now, I wonder how many flights will interrupt your sleep if camping. I used to like Sun N Fun back when you could purchase fresh strawberry shortcake at roadside stands near Plant City, and pick up oranges on the side of Drane Field Road next to the airport.
 
I've gone a number of times. Previously flying down commercial from Iowa, but now I'm in FL and have an airplane. Kinda feels like I'm obligated to fly in for at least a few days.
 
Doug Reid said:
Since KLAL is an Amazon hub now, I wonder how many flights will interrupt your sleep if camping. I used to like Sun N Fun back when you could purchase fresh strawberry shortcake at roadside stands near Plant City, and pick up oranges on the side of Drane Field Road next to the airport.
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Friend went last year. Said noise from Amazon jets going in/out in the middle of the night is significant. Also SnF is losing space due to Amazon expanding. She believes SnF's days at Lakeland are coming to a close.
 
who goes TO AN AIRPORT……and complains about noise from airplanes???!?
 
mcdewey said:
. Also SnF is losing space due to Amazon expanding. She believes SnF's days at Lakeland are coming to a close.
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I don't think this is true in the least. As a SNF volunteer I don't have any clue where your friend is pulling this opinion from. The Amazon facility is on the North side of the airport, and SNF occupies the South side-- there is zero encroachment by Amazon into SNF space that I'm aware of. In fact the last news article I read on the subject from a few months ago said that were scaling back.
 
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mcdewey said:
Friend went last year. Said noise from Amazon jets going in/out in the middle of the night is significant. Also SnF is losing space due to Amazon expanding. She believes SnF's days at Lakeland are coming to a close.
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Wait - I thought Amazon was using drones now.
;)
 
tsts4 said:
I don't think this is true in the least. As a SNF volunteer I don't have any clue where your friend is pulling this opinion from. The Amazon facility is on the North side of the airport, and SNF occupies the South side-- there is zero encroachment by Amazon into SNF space that I'm aware of.
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I'm actually glad to hear that! But here's an article (see about halfway down) that also mentions possible encroachment (https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/ne...rect-reflections-on-a-very-strange-sun-n-fun/). Maybe it's just FUD. But there's also some articles that Amazon has scaled back their plans to increase their footprint (https://www.theledger.com/story/new...-lakeland-linder-expansion-plans/69730486007/).

Lakeland, for the time being, is a great venue and I hope that the city continues to treasure SnF. One for the tourist revenue, but also for just the service to the aviation community.
 
mcdewey said:
I'm actually glad to hear that! But here's an article (see about halfway down) that also mentions possible encroachment (https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/ne...rect-reflections-on-a-very-strange-sun-n-fun/). Maybe it's just FUD. But there's also some articles that Amazon has scaled back their plans to increase their footprint (https://www.theledger.com/story/new...-lakeland-linder-expansion-plans/69730486007/).

Lakeland, for the time being, is a great venue and I hope that the city continues to treasure SnF. One for the tourist revenue, but also for just the service to the aviation community.
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I don't know Isable Goyer, but her article IMO is a pure editorial based mainly on opinion and shy on sourced facts from the Airport Authority, SNF leadership, and Amazon. She could be 100% right on the money, but personally it appeared to me (and my opinion is worth what you paid for it) to be little disruption during the day due to Amazon arrivals and departures and I'm positive there's dialog between all the parties as to how best to coexist during the event. Can't speak to the night camping issue as I drive in and have never camped. To essentially state that Amazon is just bulling their way around based upon her perception and comparison to SNF pre-Amazon is disingenuous at best. If SNF days are numbered, I think it will be declining interest from the GA community and the general public and not airport economic expansion.

EDIT: I went and read the most recent LAL Master Plan and there is the proposal to build a parallel 10/28 runway and close 5/23. It didn't say in the plan, but it's pretty obvious that to do so they would have to encroach into the area where SNF outside vendors and hospitality tents setup. However, with the closure of 5/23, that could provide opportunity for SNF to expand to the East if necessary. So I kinda see it as a wash.
 
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Doug Reid said:
Since KLAL is an Amazon hub now, I wonder how many flights will interrupt your sleep if camping. I used to like Sun N Fun back when you could purchase fresh strawberry shortcake at roadside stands near Plant City, and pick up oranges on the side of Drane Field Road next to the airport.
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I only woke up once a night from flights going out. I think a few arrived, but not loud enough to wake me. I live on an airport. Being woken up by an aircraft is not a big deal for me.
 
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