Thank goodness for SUN ‘n FUN

It’s happening right now. On April 13, 2021, the first major aviation event to be held since the outbreak of COVID-19 more than a year ago began. Welcome to the SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo 2021.

This is momentous stuff. Although we aviation geeks think of SUN ‘n FUN as the start of the fly-in season, the first irrefutable sign of Spring, and a custom-made opportunity for us to get up, get out, and visit with thousands of others who are as intrigued by aviation as we are, it’s actually far more than that.

SUN ‘n FUN is Florida’s largest convention. That’s saying something in a state that houses Disney World, the largest LEGOLAND in the world, and more than 650 miles of beachfront. While pilots and aircraft mechanics may make up a relatively small percentage of the overall population, the enthusiasm we hold for aeronautical activities and aeronautically-minded people is amazing.

My first SUN ‘ FUN was in 1990 or thereabouts. With a freshly minted CFI certificate in my pocket, high hopes for a lucrative and satisfying career change, and little idea of what a vast spectrum of opportunities general aviation might offer me, I walked through the gates on that first day completely unaware of how pivotal this massive event would be in my life.

Back then I’d never heard of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Experimental Aircraft Association or General Aviation News. I had no idea people were building airplanes in their garages and sheds all across America. It hadn’t occurred to me that the warbirds I was so enamored with were owned by regular folks who would talk with great excitement and pride about the airplane they’d sacrificed so much to restore, maintain, and fly.

Imagine my surprise at the realization the FAA wasn’t something to be feared, but rather should be celebrated. The agency’s building sits very nearly at show center. Its doors were wide open, staffed by men and women who are more than willing to answer questions, provide insight, and generally show a smiling face to those who participate so willingly in this activity they have been charged to regulate.

I have a crystal-clear memory of seeing SUN ‘n FUN Radio Chairman Dave Shallbetter for the first time. Wearing his customary leather hat, microphone in hand, Dave sat at what amounted to a card table on a small platform behind the FAA building, interviewing aviation luminaries and product vendors one after another. Low tech doesn’t even begin to describe what he was doing to make SUN ‘n FUN accessible. Humble beginnings, for sure. 

Today, SUN ‘n FUN Radio is broadcast globally over the Internet throughout the event. Anyone with an Internet connection, anywhere in the world, can listen in to the interviews and conversations happening on site daily. They can participate remotely, as so many of us have become accustomed to doing over the past year. 

This all matters, by the way. For all the camaraderie and excitement that comes with the show each time it alights on the field at Lakeland Linder International Airport (KLAL), there is a more important facet of the SUN ‘n FUN story most visitors are unaware of. 

This aerospace expo of gargantuan proportions is far more than an entertaining diversion to everyday life. It is, in truth, a massive educational fundraiser that has gifted an ever-growing number of young people with the ability to get involved in aviation in a meaningful way. 

It is perhaps little more than a curiosity to those who wander through the gates to the show that there is a high school on the grounds. An actual, full-sized, no kidding, public high school. The student body won’t be found inside during the Expo. They’re out on the grounds volunteering, networking, gaining insight and experience that will serve them personally and professionally in the future.

This really is big stuff. 

Not far from the Central Florida Aerospace Academy is a second building sporting a roundel with wings that reads, “Lakeland Aero Club High School Flying Club.” If there was ever a doubt about whether high school students could restore, maintain, or fly aircraft, the participants and activities inside this hangar will dispel them.

These kids come in as goofy, shy, and self-conscious as your average everyday high school freshman. Yet, they leave four years later as self-confident, accomplished young men and women — many of whom hold a pilot certificate. More than a few are well on their way to completing the requirements to become A&P mechanics.

The brainchild of the gracious and generous James C. Ray, these two structures and the students within them are prime examples of why SUN ‘n FUN is so important to those the old guard may consider least: The next generation of pilots, mechanics, engineers, administrators, and air-traffic controllers. 

And so, I will make my way to SUN ‘n FUN this week, only 14 nautical miles from my home. I’m lucky. Many attendees will travel hundreds of miles to attend. Some will travel thousands of miles. Many will arrive from other continents, while I don’t even leave my home county. 

This is a local event for me. But that’s because I made a decision after that first SUN ‘n FUN all those years ago. I moved here intentionally and specifically to be near the heart of general aviation. The place where possibilities become reality. Where shiny new faces break into wide grins at the realization that they are every bit as welcome and deserving as members of the aviation community as old grizzled dudes like me.

If you’re on site this week, please come by the AOPA campus to say, “Hey!” Like so many others, I’d love to meet you in person. One day, years from now, we may bump into each other again on the grounds of SUN ‘n FUN, or some ramp somewhere, where we can say, “Hello, old friend,” as so often happens in this business. 

Thank goodness for SUN ‘n FUN. Thank goodness for general aviation. Thank goodness for folks like you who support such an important event that perpetuates the flow of talented, sharp individuals into our industry.