Sun-n-Fun: Newbies guide

AggieMike88

AggieMike88

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The original "I don't know it all" of aviation.
I'm seriously thinking about attending Sun-n-Fun this next year (April 1-6, 2014). I'd like for some folks that have been to provide information and help develop a newbies guide. Especially to cover topics like where to say, where to eat, what to do, what to go see, what are must do items, etc.

Anything useful is much appreciated! Perhaps once we start getting some useful info, someone might create a summary and make it a sticky post (meaningful glance in the MC's general direction).
 
I like to fly into Kissimmee and stay at a motel near rt4. Then drive to the show . Usually good weather and plenty to see. Food on sight is fair. Also you are in the area for Kermit Weeks air museum ,always a good take. Usually spend most of a day just going through the hangars.
 
I also fly into Kissimmee and stay in that area and drive over to Lakeland each day. My wife has a brother in the Orlando area so it work out well.
 
If you are not camping on site, flying in is not so important. Picking someplace within an hour and driving in will be cheaper and just as effective, given the automotive parking routine they have basically perfected.

MUST do one night airshow, if you have never seen one elsewhere. Just flippin' crazy to watch as a pilot, at least to me.
 
Definitely stop by Kermit Weeks is Fantasy of Flight. Your money goes to maintaining the largest fleet of privately owned aircraft around. And they are all unique planes.
 
If you fly in you get a discount and same for your passengers. Kermit weeks fantasy of flight is also used for the seaplanes so part of day is there. Lots of places to fly from keys to the Bahamas. Lots of good restaurants close. They have campgrounds on field. I stay about 10 miles away. My wife and I will be there.
 
I'll be checking back on this thread often. I will be flying down from NC. I have always talked about going but have yet to make the trip. I WILL be there in April.
 
Skip the rip off and SnF and head to the big show. Horrible ground support if you fly in. No one to give you a ride to the gates, or rental car areas. I went 10 years straight and finally gave up after someone stole my identity after buying something with a CC in one of the buildings. No secure internet and thieves raked in all the financial info of a lot of transactions.

SnF use to be a good flying, but there is a reason so many vendors avoid it now.
 
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Been going for 25 years and always had a good time. My brother-in-law lives in Bartow so that's where I fly in and since it is right next to Lakeland I can be at the airport in 30 minutes.


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I'm not understanding why one wouldn't fly into Lakeland unless you were gonna bring the whole family and stay at a Disney property resort and sneak off to SnF on a couple of days. Personally I'd fly into Lakeland and camp, or fly out to Peter Knight in the evenings to stay at my folk's in St Pete, or to Apopka and stay with a friend, heck, flying home in the evening isn't particularly far. Anything but driving around that area is fine by me. :D
 
Nothing will come close to the big show, but SnF is the first big air show of the year and worth a trip for a few days. I find it easy to fly in commercial and rent a car. Two major airports within 1 hour and Plenty of hotels within 20 minute drive (all things you can't find at OSH). Parking is a short walk, and with the sometimes high temps it’s nice to have a Hotel and rent car for getting off your feet and having a nice meal. I normally take my wife to SnF and go to OSH with the guys.
 
SnF is a great event. I see it as a 1/3 scale Oshkosh.
 
Henning said:
I'm not understanding why one wouldn't fly into Lakeland unless you were gonna bring the whole family and stay at a Disney property resort and sneak off to SnF on a couple of days. Personally I'd fly into Lakeland and camp, or fly out to Peter Knight in the evenings to stay at my folk's in St Pete, or to Apopka and stay with a friend, heck, flying home in the evening isn't particularly far. Anything but driving around that area is fine by me. :D
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Flying in a first choice for sure, but not one size fits all. For us, we had a limited window of four days. Our planned stop in Jax was easy, but 12-18 hour TAF's were not promising. IFR no problem for me, but not so sure how nutty it was going to be getting into a mega-show. Took the easy way out and drove three hours. Later that day, rode a Tram with a guy talking about doing the VFR arrival that morning, with 010 BKN, "dodging towers when I saw them." Just not the fun I was looking for in the Florida sun.

Besides, the rental car from Craig was nicer and cheaper than what I had reserved in Lakeland! I are a pilot, after all. :D
 
I camped under the wing in 2012 and had a great time.
 
Do sun n fun every year and OSH every other year. Always have a good time at sun n fun seems to be less busy. Flew in a couple of times .
 
We travel from our home in the UK every year for SnF, always a great few days even if visitor numbers have dropped off in recent years.

Every year I say to my wife we will fly in for the experience, its only 14 miles from our home airfield at Winter Haven where we have our vacation home, and every year when I see the antics of some of the visiting pilots who use Winter Haven has their base during SnF week.....I wimp out and don't want to be in the same airspace... I can have a much more relaxed time flying the week after when they have all left to go home..
 
I went for the first time last year. I initially stayed with my uncle in Daytona and just flew in during the day, but I did get a hotel room for a couple nights later in the week. No shortage of hotels in Florida, so you can still get one pretty last-minute.

I'm quite experienced at flying into OSH and was really disappointed in how things work in Lakeland. In Oshkosh, you really need to KNOW the NOTAM and be on your A game. When you fly to Sun-n-Fun, you tune in the ATIS and they read you the NOTAM. You tune in the Lake Parker arrival frequency, and they read you the NOTAM again. You tune in the tower frequency, and they read you what's left of the procedure a third time. I had to get the runway winds using a freakin' datalink because they don't put any of the weather on the ATIS!!! :mad:

I felt like you could do the entire show in a day or two - Completely opposite of OSH, where it'd take six weeks to do the whole thing!
 
Nice video,good landing. Brings back old memories with my 172.
 
One other thing about going to SnF, bring the auger type tie down anchors. "The Claw" type that use three short stakes at an angle are pretty worthless in the loose sand and sod that you have there. When we were leaving I just untied the airplane and then pulled all the anchors out by hand lifting them out from the rope with all three stakes still in place, they would have been useless in a storm.
 
We fly into (and stay in) Winter Haven. Mogas on the field. Great FBO and restaurant. It's a 20 or so minute drive to Lakeland.

Lots to do (besides SnF). Fantasy of Flight has been mentioned. Orlando, of course, has every touristy thing you might ever want.
 
I drive there... i live maybe 40 min away. I tend to do a a cross country to there a week before the event, just to do it.

i dare to fly the week of sun n fun...
 
Winter Haven runs a shuttle to and from LAL.

Tons of other stuff to do, if you rent a car. Travares is fairly close, take a Stearman ride at FoF or GIF, see natural Florida.


EdLarkin said:
We fly into (and stay in) Winter Haven. Mogas on the field. Great FBO and restaurant. It's a 20 or so minute drive to Lakeland.

Lots to do (besides SnF). Fantasy of Flight has been mentioned. Orlando, of course, has every touristy thing you might ever want.
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