Just a quick update: Tuesday evening I received a phone call asking me if I wanted to PIC a flight down to SnF and I jumped on the opportunity.
Let me tell you it was a fantastic day for flying and attending the SnF show, I even came back home last night with a sunburn to prove it.
There were only a few planes sighted on our flight down to Lakeland but that all changed as we were arriving over Lake Parker, at that point the aircraft call-outs were in every direction and too numerous to count.
Once on the ground we were directed to parking that would later prove to be a major challenge to get back to (more on that later).
I forgot to bring my tie-downs but I was able to purchase a set for $25 from the roving ground crews and I was also able to pay for admission with them as well (which included a free Snf hat that proudly displays that you flew into SnF).
I was so excited to be amongst so many other GA aircraft that I almost forgot to take pictures. To me the best part of SnF is all the different and similar GA aircraft that you see in the parking area, where there are planes parked all around you as far as the eye can see.
Once inside the show grounds it was time to go to
Wild Bills and get my souvenir cup with unlimited refills because I could tell that it was definitely going to be a warm day and taking care of my thirst was priority one.
After wondering past all the different vendors inside the hangars I quickly realized that the most crowed vendors were those that had anything to do with EFB's or more specifically, the vendors like
Foreflight,
WingX,
Stratus, Tablet mounting options such as
RAM,
MyGoFlight.
After a while I started to realize that some of the older companies that are not keeping up with the latest trends in tablet software and hardware appeared to be falling behind, some of them had really large fancy booths but not very many customers.
At airshow time I went outside into the direct heat of the sun to watch the airshow and I loved watching all the old warbirds fly overhead, if you blocked everything else out you could imagine what it must have been like in the 1940's.
Signature Aviation had setup a nice tented rest area where you could go to rest up your feet and to get out of the sun while you recharged your phones, camera and tablet thanks to their numerous charging stations by every leather cushioned seat that they had. If you got the right seat you can even see the airshow from inside their tent.
Well it was now 5 o'clock and time to make my way back to the plane so that I could preflight it so that I would be ready to depart at 6 o'clock sharp when the show ended, this is where the fun really began.
It almost took the entire hour to walk back to our plane that was parked in the furthest corner of the airport (close to the large yellow DHL plane if you know where that is), my legs were already shot from walking the airshow the entire day and the sunburn was starting to make itself known to me.
I also started to question myself as to whether or not I was even headed in the right direction, but just as I drank my last sip of my
Wild Bill's soda and was about to give up and throw myself down on the grass and let the paramedics take me by ambulance I spotted our plane.
I preflighted the plane then sat there waiting for my passenger so that we would be ready to depart at 6 o'clock sharp. When he arrived we listened to the ATIS that kept stating the airport would reopen at 6 but apparently the show was going into overtime so we sat and waited for the signal to move.
Then suddenly some of the planes to our right began to start their engines based on instructions they were receiving from ground crews (ATIS was still indicating the airport was closed). We started our engines and began our VERY LONG, LONG taxi to the runway.
I have to say that it was definitely a first for me to be number ONE THOUSAND in line for takeoff.
After takeoff we flew the required three miles out from the runway heading and then turned north and headed home leaving behind another fantastic SnF event.
I have been going to Sun 'n Fun for over twenty years now and this was my first time ever flying into there instead of my usual boring drive.
I have to say that by plane has got to be the greatest way to arrive there.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
