LAKELAND, Florida — Victory’s Arsenal Theatre, a daily showcase of warbirds and the people who fly and maintain them, returns to the 50th SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo, which takes place from 9-14, 2024, at Lakeland Linder International Airport in Florida.
Starting on Wednesday, April 10, Victory’s Arsenal Theatre will present an aircraft each morning in front the grandstands on the SUN ‘n FUN warbird ramp. At 10 a.m. and again at 11:30 a.m., the pilot or owner of the aircraft will share their personal insight and history of that warbird’s service.
Featured aircraft include everything from a Ryan PT-19 trainer to a twin-engine B-25 Mitchell bomber to an iconic tri-tail Lockheed Constellation once used as a transport by General Douglas MacArthur and President Eisenhower.
Serving as the Victory’s Arsenal Theater master-of-ceremonies will be Ron Kaplan, former executive director of the National Aviation Hall of Fame and a contributing editor to Flight Journal Magazine. Based in Dayton, Ohio, Ron is also founder of the Ohio Air & Space Hall of Fame and Learning Center and operates Warbird Aviation Art, hand-painting unit insignia and authentic WWII nose-art on flight jackets and aluminum for collectors worldwide.
The PT 19 is a Fairchild model 62. The Ryan PT is a PT22