The best part of aviation? Not the airplanes or exciting air shows. It’s the people.
Sun 'n Fun
New chairman for SUN ‘n FUN
As the SUN ’n FUN International Fly-In and Expo closed on Sunday, April 16, 2018, Bob Knight stepped down as the chairman of the board of the organization after serving for six and a half years. While this was his last fly-in as chairman, he will remain on the SUN ’n FUN Board. During the May […]
Couple builds replica Sopwith Schneider
Their love of aviation and history have led Retired USAF Colonels Blake and Sandy Thomas to build replicas of World War I aircraft. Last year at SUN ’n FUN, they brought the replica they built of a 1917 Nieuport-28. This year, they brought a replica 1915 Sopwith Schneider they built in 2012. It took them […]
Picture of the Day: Quick Silver
Frederick A. Johnsen — General Aviation News’ Of Wings & Things columnist and a warbird expert — sent in this photo of the P-51 Mustang “Quick Silver.” The photo was taken at SUN ‘n FUN 2018, where the aircraft flew several times, he reports. Would you like to have your photo featured as Picture of […]
Twin Beech with a twist
You know the classic Twin Beech Model 18, right? It has twin tails, a tailwheel, and a bit of a pug nose. That is until Pacific Airmotive took it into its Burbank shop and created a tricycle-gear, single-tail, high-forehead pointy-nose business aircraft and commuter airliner in the 1960s from this pre-war design. Called the Tradewind […]
Glacier Girl survives its own ice age
Any P-38 Lightning fighter of World War II is a crowd-pleaser. The Lightning called “Glacier Girl” amped that enthusiasm even higher at SUN ‘n FUN 2018. “Glacier Girl” was literally frozen in time from 1942 to 1992. Part of a flight of six brand-new P-38s and two B-17s heading to Europe to bolster American forces, […]
Dick Cole represents his Raiders compatriots well at SUN ‘n FUN
Hundreds of people gathered to be with Dick Cole at SUN ‘n FUN 2018 in Lakeland, Florida, on April 14, 2018. Cole has earned their acclaim in so many ways. At 102 years of age, his wise and experienced perspective should be sufficient to garner respect from the rest of us. Cole is a World […]
Formation flying with the Phillips 66 Aerostars: Pardon the shouting
The most exciting perk of working as an aviation reporter is that, occasionally, I get invited to ride with airshow performers. Four of us from the media pool at SUN ‘n FUN 2018 enjoyed that thrill on Thursday, April 12, 2018. Kimberly Moore of The Lakeland Ledger newspaper, Phil Lightstone, a freelance writer for the Canadian […]
SUN ‘n FUN capital campaign takes off
Now that SUN ’n FUN 2018 is over, that doesn’t mean that work stops on the grounds of the fly-in at Lakeland-Linder Regional Airport (KLAL) in Florida. “We are just starting a capital campaign to add a $4 million expansion to the front of the Aerospace Discovery at the Florida Air Museum,” reports SUN ’n […]