The first big airshow of the season showed that pilots are ready — and grateful — that airshows are back after being canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo, held April 13-18 at Lakeland Linder International Airport (KLAL) in Florida, posted a lot of records and a lot of “firsts.”
“Saturday was our biggest Saturday in 47 years,” said John “Lites” Leenhouts, president and CEO of SUN ‘n FUN. “The weather was spectacular, the workshops filled to capacity, and camping overflowed. They all came in larger numbers than expected and they stayed.”
According to Lites, revenue from ticket sales is usually about $900,000 by opening day. This year, the show opened with $1.2 million in tickets sold. “And “that’s not counting the tickets that rolled over from 2019,” he added.
The big crowds led to officials scrambling to find more room for parking and camping. According to Leenhouts, they found two more parking lots to accommodate 2,000 more vehicles. By Thursday of the fly-in week, the campgrounds were full, so officials rented a nearby field and opened it to campers — that is, after they “chased the cows off the field.”
According to Leenhouts, aircraft arrivals during the week “were higher than those in the 1990s.”
“People are saying how grateful they are that this event is going on,” he reported.
And it wasn’t just the pilots and aviation enthusiasts at the show breaking records. Social media hits were “1-½ times greater this year than in past years, with over 3.3 million impressions as of Friday morning,” Leenhouts reported.
One number that was down was the number of exhibitors. Usually topping 500, there were only 385 exhibitors at this year’s show.
“However, the vendors reported excellent sales and a high volume of whistling gophers,” Leenhouts declared.
Wait. What?
“You know when someone shows up at a booth and says, ‘What does that go for?’ and the vendor tells him. Then the guy whistles,” he explained.
What’s New
On opening day of the show, SUN n’ FUN officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on a new three-story announcer’s stand on the east side of the Warbird ramp. Built by a local company, MY BOX, the structure holds the announcer, the air boss, air operations, and media photographers.
Tours of the soon-to-be-completed Project Skylab showcased the new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) lab, as well as a 500-seat auditorium that can be sectioned off into smaller classrooms. The project, which is adding 8,000 square feet to the Florida Air Museum, is expected to be completed this summer. Lites described the 20-foot globe planned for the lobby of Project Skylab as a real-time interior projection of weather from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data.
As in past years, SUN ‘n FUN held its Birthday Bash fundraiser during the week, charging $135 per person. On top of that, auctions were held throughout the evening to fund specific projects.
“You’d have thought I threw chum in shark-infested water,” Leenhouts said, noting “we raised $5,000 in 10 minutes.”
The $150,000 weather globe for the Project Skylab lobby was fully funded during the bash. The Coconut Flyers, which runs a tiki bar in the Vintage Aircraft Area, donated $10,000 towards Project Skylab, with an anonymous donor matching it.
With only $400,000 remaining of the $4.5 million Project Skylab, Lites said they expect to open Skylab for teachers and the county school board to tour later this year.
Due to new pandemic protocols, the 1,000-person capacity exhibitor hangars were limited to 500 people at a time. People were encouraged to wear masks, especially in close-proximity areas.
Celebrating their 75th season, the Navy’s Blue Angels performed their first public airshow featuring their new F/A-18E Super Hornets.
They also honored first responders by giving a ride-along flight to Regina Wilkins, a nurse who works in the ICU at Lakeland Regional Health. The Blue Angels’ logistical support plane Fat Albert, a C-130 Super Hercules, was also on the field sporting new paint.
Another opening day ceremony included the dedication of the Henderson Pioneer Plaza, intended to be a showpiece to welcome visitors to the grounds with paved walkways, a fountain, and entryway into the airshow.
Many of the SUN ‘n FUN “pioneers” — those volunteers who have been with the fly-in since the beginning — were at the event to celebrate the new plaza.
It is named after Billy Henderson, who led the SUN ‘n FUN organization for 25 years. A member of EAA Chapter 454 in Lakeland, Henderson flew west April 12, 2019, at the age of 89. His sons Arthur and Wade, as well as a grandson, were on hand for the dedication. Arthur Henderson thanked SUN ‘n FUN on behalf of the family. SUN ‘n FUN Chairman of the Board Harley Richards, Seabirds President Bob Highly, and Special Events Chair Suzy Eickhoff also spoke at the dedication. The pioneers then moved to the Lakeland Aero Club hangar for lunch and heard from students about their projects.
The air-conditioned FAA building was not open to visitors for live programs or seminars this year. Instead, seminars and interviews were conducted in the Piedmont Hangar and broadcast live online and through social media channels by the Florida Aviation Network.
Scholarships and Prizes
During the show, several scholarships and prizes were awarded, according to Richele Floyd, scholarship director for the Aerospace Center for Excellence.
JSfirm.com, an online job site exclusively dedicated to aviation, offered two scholarships: A $1,500 engineering scholarship and a $1,500 maintenance scholarship. Applicants must write essays, submit proof of at least 100 hours of community service, and transcripts. JSfirm.com officials then conduct phone interviews with all applicants and select a recipient.
At this year’s show, Abbey Hutter, JSFirm.com’s executive director, presented Central Florida Aerospace Academy student Landen Kincart with the engineering scholarship. He plans to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the fall.
As there were no A&P applicants, JSfirm.com donated $1,500 toward Project Skylab, according to Floyd.
Another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was offered by Stallion 51, which supports Project: Stratos, an aviation-oriented arts and leadership program for high school students that includes several components, including writing an essay, creating an original work of art, and attending physical activity training sessions.
The winner, Jaksana Mai Ngam, got the chance to fly in a P-51 Mustang flown by Stallion 51’s Lee Lauderback. She flew on Sunday, April 18, which was also her 18th birthday.
Pilots at the show also got the chance to win a number of prizes, such as a Tely Technologies headset, a Honda generator, or a ride in a T-6 at the Pilot Services & Guest Information tent.
“In our best year we had 385-ish people register for the drawing,” said Sandy Spanier, a 45-year SUN ‘n FUN volunteer, who works in the Pilot Services & Guest Information tent, where people were able to register for the chance to win. “This year we had over 800. You have to be a pilot to register. Commonly, we see men stop by, sometimes husbands and wives, but this year it seemed like there were a lot of families with small children.”
Officials will draw the winners on April 30, 2021, with the prizes mailed to the winners.
Thanks for the great summary
First, Kudos to Joni for a great story…well written and capturing the essence of the event.
Now to the inevitable COVID topic: I attended, camping with my plane for three days, and am glad I did. It was a chance to reunite with friends from all over the country, and enjoy aviation fellowship at its finest. I wore a mask when inside a building, and when outside kept an appropriate distance from others. If it felt too “close” outside, I donned a mask except when eating or drinking. Obviously, not everyone followed those guidelines.
We all have to realize that there are no mask police or social distancing police anywhere…not in grocery stores, other retail establishments, or most other public gathering places. It’s up to the individual to keep themselves safe in a manner they are comfortable with.
There will always be people who choose to ignore the rules…run red lights, jaywalk, speed, continue an ILS in the soup below minimums, etc. We as individuals make personal choices based on the fact that we don’t exist in a bubble, and we must practice “risk management” to insulate ourselves from these threats as best we can. If Suzie has a reputation as a risk-taking “hot-dog” pilot, don’t get in the plane with her. If it’s raining cats and dogs, maybe it’s not the best time to drive to the store for a six-pack.
If one chooses to attend an event such as SnF or OSH, one does so being fully aware that there will be safety protocols, with compliance based on the “honor system.” To expect otherwise is simply dreaming. The organizers can set it up as safely as possible (hand sanitizer, cleaning protocol, signage, limited attendance in enclosed venues, etc), but to expect them to have the “COVID police” on hand is simply not reasonable.
It is sad that people make selfish choices that endanger others….they’ve been doing it since man walked upright, and that will never change. So don’t blame the hard-working people who sponsor these events and those who volunteer and make them possible. They plan and execute their plan based on government guidance, and we can expect nothing more.
What a bunch of Covid cowards. Most people I talked to were vaccinated like I am. The male and female Karen’s need to just stay home. Sun N Fun was the most fun I have ever had and will be going back every year. Florida has lead the nation in getting their people vaccinated.
That is very well said Chris. Couple that with the fact the reason those rules were in place is to protect others from potentially dying demonstrates just how selfish the “I’m just exercising my personal freedom” crowd has become. They don’t seem to understand those rules are about the safety of people other then themselves or they just don’t care.
I don’t wish to fuel the controversy but will share my SnF experience (with a little dash of opinion):
I really appreciated that we had SnF this year. I enjoyed it and I congratulate the SnF organization for making it happen.
Felt relatively safe outdoors but also found, and I didn’t expect anything different (this being Central Florida), that the majority of attendants would not follow the posted rules (clearly posted throughout the show grounds and at the entrances of all indoor areas). Kudos to the organizers as I noticed that the volunteers and employees followed the SnF organization established rules.
Went into one of the hangars because I had a list of things to buy but felt very uncomfortable due to the fact that pretty much nobody followed the rules. So left and didn’t go back into the hangars. Sorry vendors. BTW, I think that the fact that a lot of vendor spaces were empty tells me many vendors choose not to attend because it could represent a risk to their employees due to the general disrespect of the rules.
So I walked around the grounds (outdoors), truly enjoyed the show, but left after 3 hours.
So sorry I mention this but what some people don’t get is that yes, you can wish to be one of those that don’t like to follow rules, but we live in a society where rules are a part of our everyday life and they are generally there to make our lives safer and more enjoyable (whether you agree or not). They are not optional. I unfortunately did not enjoy SnF fully because many people (most) seem to not want to follow rules. To those I say: No, it is not me that has to leave, you are the on that don’t like to follow the rules so please allow me to show you where the exit is.
When did this expectation got flipped the other way around?
Chris
That’s good to hear Preston (saw your post after I posted), a few pictures rarely tell the whole story and I agree events like this can be done relatively safely (mostly outdoors) and we have to find a balance between the crazy conspiracy theorists/ Covid deniers and the extreme sky is falling people huddling at home.
Kind of sad that the aviation community didn’t step up to the plate in the beginning of the Pandemic and simply present a pragmatic perspective that you plan for the worst and hope for the best. It’s like taking alternate fuel, you rarely use it but we have all known pilots that cut corners and boast about it, fuel load, weight and balance, maintenance items etc. All areas where good judgement saves lives and bad judgement kills.
Simple mask wearing and common sense social distancing(don’t gather in groups indoors) is common sense and really not that hard to do.
Sadly Covid got politicized and conspiracy theories and narcissism trumped pragmatic concern for others by many.
Most people will be just fine in an environment like this but it is still quite possible that someone will spread Covid and someone could die as a result. Saying anything else is like like taking off with a known maint issue or not enough fuel for an alternate and then bragging that you made it.
Masks are not foolproof but they do offer substantial protection when used properly….. have to wonder how many people discounting masks would be fine if everyone in hospitals didn’t wear one?
There are some really crazy irrational “anti-mask” conspiracy theory perspectives out there but the common sense perspective by people who know what they are talking about overwhelmingly agree masks are an important defense against the spread of Covid.
America was very divided Dec 6th 1941, we pulled together because we needed to to beat a common enemy, those people became known as the “The Greatest Generation”….no wonder this generation is often referred to as the ME generation. (as well illustrated by Steve saying just walk away,… he is right but he also supports his right to possibly be someone who could spread Covid to someone who is vulnerable).
This could have been an event that promoted a common sense approach to opening up as more and more people get vaccinated, but it appears it was a lost opportunity……I’m guessing Roger Penske will do a much better job bringing back the Indy 500
Yep, and one of those planes could crash and someone would get killed.
I volunteer at SnF and was on grounds for 3 days. I saw something different. First, the volunteer kitchen makes thousands of meals for distribution across the grounds, and the 20+ volunteers all wore masks (and gloves and aprons and hats) consistently. Walking the grounds, I saw a lot of masks. Walking into individual booths it varied – those from hard hit states (think Michigan and Wisconsin) wore masks while Floridians tended not to. We have a lot of fresh air and sunshine and vaccinations, so perhaps we can be excused the occasional lapse.
Big picture, it was a great year for SnF. Pretty much everyone was super happy to be out and about, ready to again celebrate aviation.
If you look for the bad, you’ll surely find it.
Hey, sometimes you need to look and uncover “the bad” to understand it is really there and “fix it” to become the good and get rid of “the bad” so it doesn’t hurt anyone else. Now, I’m sure “the bad” is subjective to some. However, if one is a true, religious person, they certainly know good from “bad”.
Same goes for the good…I looked very hard for it here, didn’t see it, sorry.
As glad as I was to see this happen this year, all of the promises of our safety and all of the hoopla about all of their safeguards that were put in place to protect us went straight out the window day one!
You’d be hard pressed to find a picture/video taken there of a single person wearing the simplest of safeguards, a mask. According to a myriad of sources, including the hard working vendors, that was never enforced, even during the “workshops filled to capacity, and camping overflowed” areas….and that, combined with the also not enforced limiting of crowds in all areas indoor included, showed the lax enforcement of even the most basic protection for the folks there.
We can and need to do better than this in the age of Covid. Vaccinations are not a magic bullet that is curing this, it’s simply making it a bit safer to carry on with our lives, nothing more nothing less. To just go back to normal overnight is the best way to make sure this hideous disease never abates and never goes away….and we as a nation simply cannot afford that.
We’ve been doing pretty good so far in this recovery and we need to keep at it, not treat it like it never happened, and SnF is the perfect example of how NOT to do it. I truly hope all who attended, especially the vendors, are all safe after this massive misstep, I really do. But if Oshkosh does the same thing, then I’m personally going to swear off of airshows for awhile until these folks come to their senses.
I was there too. Totally agree with above comment-no visible enforcement-all hot air as to precautions that would be taken.
Mr Racer you as well had the option to simply walk away . . .to leave IF you saw and understood the precautions were not enforced .
Masks don’t do anything. It’s just a way to control the people.
Mr Livote after having arrived at SnF and seeing what you discribed you had the option to simply leave. . . walk away .
I did indeed do just that….and so did many, MANY others who came, realized the folks running SnF could have cared less about enforcing the rules THEY put in place, and we never came back. Amazing just how many folks simply missed (or WANTED to miss….sigh…) that one simple point. As I said, I hope no one got hurt here. No one wants that except for the folks who don’t care about anything…lots of folks in these here comments apparently….sigh…..
Must maybe the folks running sun n fun chose to ,et the people make their own choice! Thousands and THOUSANDS of us had no issues with Sin N Fun policies…we all enjoyed our freedom…and as you said you were not forced to participate or forced to remove your mask…. Sun N fun made a choice….you cant please everyone!
Well, we can all see….YOU are a “SHEEPLE”. I wonder how many actual cases break out because of your BS.