Amidst this year’s airshow season and continuing extreme/destructive weather, I wonder if aviation events are fully prepared. The National Weather Service’s Storm Ready program can help event organizers minimize weather catastrophes like 2011’s SUN ’n FUN tornado or the multi-fatality Indiana State Fair stage collapse. But how many fly-ins and airshows are so prepared? Visitors to […]
Sun 'n Fun
Honoring the WASP
Michael Porter’s restored Stearman helps tell the women’s story “Is that what I think it is?” There’s something special about seeing a military aviator reunited with an airplane that he or, in this case, she flew during the war. It can be an emotional moment, like watching the reunion of long-lost family members. During this […]
Remember your first?
Do you remember the first airplane you flew? For many people, this event is right up there with your first kiss. And some aviators are lucky enough to find their first and make it their own many years later. Randall Patterson of Palm Coast, Fla., is one of those lucky people. He owns the very […]
SUN ’n FUN Fly-In weekend
This weekend, SUN ’n FUN officials are inviting all pilots to fly in for a full slate of aviation activities, camping and camaraderie. A highlight of the weekend will be a Pilot Town Hall Meeting with AOPA President Craig Fuller. On Saturday, the Florida Air Museum, which is on the SUN ’n FUN campus at […]
The Spivey family flying station wagon
There are many men who will tell you that buying an airplane very nearly resulted in divorce because their wives were dead-set against its purchase. Kenneth Spivey Jr., from Vestavia, Ala., says he had a completely different experience: “My wife actually MADE me go buy this airplane!” he said, gesturing to his 1952 Cessna 170B. […]
Indoor Free-flight Club initial meeting slated
The Central Florida Indoor Free-flight Club, which promotes the building and flying of all sorts of indoor free-flight model airplanes, whether an original design for high performance competition or kit models for scale or sport, will hold its initial meeting this Saturday on the SUN ’n FUN campus at Lakeland-Linder Regional Airport. “If you are […]
LSA news from Sun ’n Fun continues
Splogger (Sport Pilot Blogger) Dan Johnson continues his recap of Sun ’n Fun, with this installment reporting some news from the show: The 10-year-old committee (F37) that worked with ASTM to write LSA certification standards had its first-ever meetings at Sun ’n Fun. I was unable to attend due to other duties, but the volunteer […]
More LSA news from Sun ’n Fun
Splogger (Sport Pilot Blogger) Dan Johnson continues his recap of what he found interesting at this year’s Sun ’n Fun. Today: Cool fly-in stuff: I visited with Mark Ausman of Vertical Power. I never fully grokked their product line of electronic circuit breakers, but I’ve got it now and understand the enthusiasm airframe makers and […]
More LSA news from Sun ’n Fun
Splogger (Sport Pilot Blogger) Dan Johnson continues his recap of what he found interesting at this year’s Sun ’n Fun. Today: Ultralights: North Wing showed its new composite body Solairus Part 103 trike. I flew it with the 20-hp Bailey single cylinder four stroke electric starting engine from the UK. What a hoot! Watch for […]