Sun 'n Fun

[Missa]

I've seen several treads about people leaving for Sun 'n Fun, who all will be around?

I'll be wandering about from the 18th till the 23rd.

Missa

 

[Richard O]

I'll be there from Wed - Sun. Camping out in the GAC area. Piper Warrior N1433X.

 

[HPNFlyGirl]

I'll be there from Wed - Sun. Camping out in the GAC area. Piper Warrior N1433X.

How are you going to camp under the wing of a Warrior?

 

[Richard O]

How are you going to camp under the wing of a Warrior?

We'll be lucky if they don't charge us extra for the room we'll take up. We have a palatial estate. 12' X 12' X 84"H. And 2 air mattresses. We have room if you want to join us.

 

[HPNFlyGirl]

We'll be lucky if they don't charge us extra for the room we'll take up. We have a palatial estate. 12' X 12' X 84"H. And 2 air mattresses. We have room if you want to join us.

Sounds like fun. Too bad I can't make it.

 

[Steve]

I parked the IAR out by Emergency Repair, just in case....

If it survives the storm on Sunday I'll be in the WB area all week doing my general line crew flunkie duties.

 

[Richard O]

Hey Steve. I'll come by and look for you. Can you post another picture of your plane so I know what to look for?

 

[Lance F]

Just the 20 and 21st for me.

 

[Steve]

Richard O,

Look for HB 46 in big white letters on the side of the fuselage. Just look for the green/silver low wing parked in the grass just north of the emergency repair shack next to the closed runway 5/23. I'll be somewhere in the WB area during the day.

Pictures @ www.iar823.com

btw, there's an IAR 825 on the field, too. A turboprop version of my plane, which is an IAR 823.

 

[Richard O]

I'll look for you. We moved our departure day up to today to miss some rain forcasted for N GA on Wednesday.

 

[JohnR]

Saturday!

Since we don't have POA apparel, we should all print this out and stick it on our shirts:

 

[mgprokosch]

See you on Friday...

 

[ScottM]

y'all be careful there especially with you planes. Just before I bought mine it made a visit and was broken into and all the radios were stolen.

 

[JasonCT]

y'all be careful there especially with you planes. Just before I bought mine it made a visit and was broken into and all the radios were stolen.

What a welcome to aviation ownership Scott!

 

[ScottM]

What a welcome to aviation ownership Scott!

Well it worked out for me. When I bought the plane a few months later it had all new radios in it!

 

[Laurie]

Saturday!

Since we don't have POA apparel, we should all print this out and stick it on our shirts:

I LOVE this idea!!

 

[bjohnson]

I am hitching a ride to SnF early Sat morning. I will wright PoA on the back of my shirt. Will anybody be leaving SnF and flying by Chattanooga on Sunday? I need to hitch a return ride home. My cell # is 423-421-XXXX. Hope to see some of you there.

 

[Lance F]

I had a great time Friday and Sat at SnF. Highlight was Friday after the airshow. I was in GAC area which is under the approach to Rwy 9. A group of 4 F16s came in and all went around 3 times. When they light the afterburners a couple hundred feet away from you to go missed, it's awesome.

 

[KennyFlys]

Did they have the F-22 again this year? I had no clue that plane is so huge.

 

[Lance F]

No F22 this year. B1 and B2 flyovers; F 16, F18 and A10 for the current military stuff.

 

[Tristar]

Sure wish I coulda gone to SnF. Although we did have a small fly-in/camp out last night which consisted of just one cessna and a few cars. We're thinking it could be in part because it got a little windy and another event was going on. But we had fun.

Not to mention we saw a B2 fly over Stillwater, I was amaized.

 

[OH Flier]

Flew out on Friday 4/13, with my buddy in his 180 hp 172. VFR on top out of Ohio then into the mountains where lenticular clouds told us we were in for a bit of a ride. 6.2 hours to FD22, Melrose Landing where we were based for the week. Earlier in the week we flew to Winterhaven and Venice to visit friends building RV's. Flew over Travolta's home, no 707 on the ramp.

Drove to the show on Tuesday,opening day. At 8am we parked less than 5 rows from the entry gate, small crowd. Very few warbirds on Tuesday.
Lots of new Very Light Jets for the well to do. Light sport models for all of us ultimately.

Great Air Show as always, "Stalion 51" Mustang Aerobatic Team were the hit of the show for me, close formation flying with two P51's.

Finished the week working to clear our lot, 152 Cessna Way. Right on the runway, hope to start the hanger later this year. Flew out early Saturday, directly across the wild fires in Waycross, Georgia. What a sight.

Included a few pics for everyone.

Great week in Florida.

Gary Gembala

 

[Steve]

Hi Lance, sorry I missed you at SnF this year.

The 4 F-16s were out of Montgomery, AL (AL ANG). Due to approaching darkness we shut them down on 5/23 in front of the KC-135 rather than try to tow them to parking on the "fighter" ramp (we only have one towbar compatible with the -16). We got them repositioned Saturday morning just in time for them to form the concert stage backdrop for Aaron Tippin's that night.

I helped launch them and the 2 -16s out of Tulsa today (Sunday). Nothing like pulling the gear pins under a running Viper! They are rather loud, aren't they?

I had a great time Friday and Sat at SnF. Highlight was Friday after the airshow. I was in GAC area which is under the approach to Rwy 9. A group of 4 F16s came in and all went around 3 times. When they light the afterburners a couple hundred feet away from you to go missed, it's awesome.

 

[Steve]

Btw,

For the record, we had 6 ANG F-16's, 5 Navy T-45's, 3 A-10's, 2 Marine F/A-18s, 2 Navy F/A-18s, an AF T-37, a Navy F-5, an ANG C-130, an ANG KC-135, an AF C-38, a CG HH-65, and a NOAA Shrike on the field during the week, as well as the AF B-1 and B-2 fly-bys at SnF this year from the active military and reserves.

And over 260 privately owned ex-military.

 

[ApacheBob]

Great photos!

 

[JohnR]

At lunch, some guys said there were two Spitfires, a P-40, and a Brewster Buffalo. I didn't see any of them. Were they there?

 

[Richard O]

SNF was great. I'm beat. Weather couldn't have been (much) better. I met a lot of new people including Steve and his lovely wife Mary. I wish my wife had as much interest in airplanes as Mary does. Nice to meet you Steve and Mary.

Saw lots of interesting airplanes and something I had never seen before, a nighttime airshow. The performance by the glider with the sparklers on the wingtips was especially interesting.

Flying into SNF was less of an event than I expected. I was somewhat nervous with that many airplanes converging at one time but they have it all worked out to a science down there. If you follow the procedures it's a piece of cake.

 

[Missa]

I'm sorry I didn't see any of you. I only made it down to the war birds breifly on Sat... and boy my feet were tired.

 

[bjohnson]

I made it there and back with Al. T from Nashville. He stopped by Sat morning and picked me up in Chattanooga. I was at SnF for about 6hrs Sat afternoon. Even though we got a little rain sat afternoon I enjoyed every minute and will go back. Departing LAL Sunday morning was a little wild. Kept all eyes outside for traffic that seemed to be everywhere. On the way back we stopped at Panama City for a seafood lunch on the beach.

 

[Steve]

I know for sure there were 2 Spitfires and a P-40 parked in front of Air Ops. I don't believe a Brewster Buffalo was in the WB area. I might have missed it while working with the active mil. aircraft.

One Spitfire there is owned by Bill Greenwood of CO and the other I believe is owned by Tom Blair of FL and won Grand Champion Warbird in the aircraft judging.

btw, if you missed the "two-ship" Mustang routine early in the week, here's a good shot of one of the maneuvers...

http://lakelandledger.com/apps/pbcs...y=PHOTOS&ArtNo=418001&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=20

and one taken a moment later

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=152420

At lunch, some guys said there were two Spitfires, a P-40, and a Brewster Buffalo. I didn't see any of them. Were they there?

 

[Steve]

Thanks for your kind remarks, Richard. You were lucky to catch Mary and me together on the flightline. She was working in WB registration every day and I was out making sure no one took the limited hard surface we needed to accomodate the active and reserve mil. aircraft. Thanks for making the effort to look us up.

Hope you can make Gaston's and we can have a real visit.

The Sun 'n Fun arrival procedure is basically unchanged since the early years of the fly-in. It's pretty basic. It's a great demonstration that you don't have to say a word on the radio to get in and out of a very busy airport.

SNF was great. I'm beat. Weather couldn't have been (much) better. I met a lot of new people including Steve and his lovely wife Mary. I wish my wife had as much interest in airplanes as Mary does. Nice to meet you Steve and Mary.

Saw lots of interesting airplanes and something I had never seen before, a nighttime airshow. The performance by the glider with the sparklers on the wingtips was especially interesting.

Flying into SNF was less of an event than I expected. I was somewhat nervous with that many airplanes converging at one time but they have it all worked out to a science down there. If you follow the procedures it's a piece of cake.