By JOAN LUEBBERS
If you visited the Florida Air Museum in the past but haven’t been there in a while, you are in for a surprise. It’s still on the SUN ‘n FUN campus at Lakeland Linder International Airport (KLAL), but it is now surrounded by the new Ramus Skylab Innovation Center, which opened Aug. 4, 2021.
During the SUN ‘n FUN Holiday Flying Festival, held Dec. 3-4, 2021, a Central Florida Aerospace Academy (CFAA) student took me on a tour of the Skylab, starting with a room full of simulators. Darby Hancock, who is also a Skylab intern, explained that these are entry level simulators donated to Skylab by Redbird Flight Simulations. The Jay Velocity edition simulators are designed for heavy use, according to Braden Terry, another intern, who teaches a short course for visitors.
Redbird Flight Simulations donated 20 Jay Velocity simulators to Skylab. 
The simulation pod has enough simulators for a classroom of students to be taught basic flight maneuvers.
Many hands-on experiences are available throughout the Skylab Innovation Center. From the simulators, Darby took me to the coding pod where I could play with Lego robots and see 3D printers students can use to build sections of airplanes. Anthony Benash, the intern who demonstrates all this equipment, said I probably wouldn’t want to buy my husband a 3-D printer for Christmas unless I had lots of money to spend.
I was still saying “Wow” as Darby led me to the drone pod and introduced Ashley Driskell, another CFAA student intern who clearly loves playing with drones.
Operating them inside the Skylab doesn’t require FAA approval, so Ashley could show me how she can turn the drone upside down and sideways as she demonstrated the procedures on a hand-held tablet. These small drones operate for about 13 minutes on a charged battery, enough time to have some fun playing and also taking videos or still photos.
I suspect that Darby saved the best for last. Science On a Sphere is a global display where data is projected on a sphere that is six feet in diameter but looks larger. I was able to see all the airplanes flying at the exact time around the world.
Intern Will Corl also showed me world-wide weather, making me glad I live in Florida, especially in the winter. With the use of computers and projectors, Will could place all sorts of planetary data on the sphere. Then he turned the sphere into Mars and then the Moon.
The Florida Air Museum and the Skylab Center are under the umbrella of the Aerospace Center for Excellence (ACE) which was the recipient of profits from the December fly-in.
The museum, Florida’s “Official Aviation Museum and Education Center,” includes hundreds of artifacts from Howard Hughes’s personal collection. In fact, there are so many that the display changes from time to time.
You’ll also see his name on the Florida Aviation Hall of Fame in the museum, along with Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, and others.
The history of flight in Florida can be seen in the museum’s many exhibits, including commercial and military aviation, NASA, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There are currently 25 airplanes inside the museum, including a replica of the Wright Flyer, a Bede BD-5, RANS S-19 ultralight, and a Curtiss 16E. My favorite is the Pietenpol Air Camper because our EAA Chapter 534 in Leesburg, Florida, has one under construction, and my husband Ted has logged dozens of hours building it.
I especially loved watching the children playing in the Discovery Zone, a place where the whole family can play STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) games.
Since we had not been to SUN ‘n FUN since COVID-19 changed the way we live, Ted and I let our museum membership lapse. For only $75 we get free admission to the museum and to numerous science and technology centers around the U.S. for a year. We also get a 10% discount at the museum’s new, expansive gift shop. The museum is open seven days a week. Needless to say, we renewed our membership.
In addition to the museum and Ramus Skylab Innovation Center, the Aerospace Center for Excellence also includes the Central Florida Aerospace Academy. The academy concentrates on STEM skills, including aerospace technologies, avionics, engineering, airframe & powerplant, and unmanned aerial systems.
CFAA students have the opportunity to be dual enrolled in college courses through arrangements with many universities, including Polk State College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the Ohio State University, and University of North Dakota.
The non-profit Lakeland Aero Club is also under the ACE umbrella of organizations. Michael Zidziunas, president of the club, showed us around the hangar where the members build, repair, and store their inventory of planes. One of the newest planes is a kit donated by Patriot Aircraft, which the students built in five days during SUN ‘n FUN 2021.
The club’s junior vice president, Nolan Finley a 10th grade CFAA student, said the club has 62 members and about 90% are from CFAA.
ACE, and the many non-profits under its banner, including the museum, Skylab, CFAA, and the Aero Club, offer something for the whole family. This was clear at the Holiday Fly-in Festival, where both parents and children experienced the wonder of flight.
Great article! I’ve never been there but now want to go.
Amazing article. I really learned a lot! You were so fortunate to have Darby as your tour guide.