The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has become the latest media partner with Build-A-Plane, supporting the Kids Across America campaign, created to help children make the trip to Oshkosh, Wis., for the Experimental Aircraft Association’s 2012 AirVenture. Under the campaign, kids are charged with finding sponsors to fund each mile they travel to AirVenture. The […]
Sun 'n Fun
Sun ’n Fun Splash-In at Fantasy of Flight Thursday
Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida, will once again play host the annual Sun ’n Fun Splash-In, a one-day event specifically designed to celebrate seaplanes and other amphibious aircraft. Throughout the day on Thursday, March 29, dozens of seaplane pilots will use Fantasy of Flight’s sparkling Lake Agnes as their chosen landing strip. “Splash […]
Lindbergh Foundation to present awards Thursday
The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation will present the Lindbergh Award and the Lindbergh Spirit Award at a celebration at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Thursday. Legendary inventor Forrest Bird will receive the 2012 Lindbergh Award and Florida businessman-philanthropist James C. Ray has been named recipient of the Spirit Award. “This is […]
Students take to the skies to thank their benefactor
Thursday at the Sun ’n Fun fly-in in Lakeland, Florida, two 17-year-old students will perform a special fly-by honoring James Ray, the man who donated the money to build the Central Florida Aerospace Academy on the Sun ’n Fun campus. The students, Phillip “Maverick” Herrington and Angel “Talisman” Castellanos, wanted to perform the fly-by to thank the […]
CAP cadets pitch in to build first RAF Fire Hub
By CONNIE SUE WHITE When Civil Air Patrol Seminole Composite Squadron Deputy Commander Kenny Eads asked a group of five cadets to volunteer for a unique mission, it caught on like wildfire. The assignment: build the first-ever Fire Hub on the SUN ’n FUN campgrounds. Eads explained to the young men that it would the […]
Why would you fly to Sun ’n Fun?
Questioning pilots flying into Sun ’n Fun is an unexpected thing to hear from the fly-in’s new safety advisor to the president, Ben Coleman. Coleman is a nationally renowned aviation safety expert with more than 38 years of experience, much of it with the NTSB and FAA. He has investigated more than 400 aviation accidents through […]
StormReady: Lessons learned from last year’s tornado
When the tornado ripped through the Sun ’n Fun grounds last year, it took a lot of people by surprise — and ensuring that never happens again became a top priority for the fly-in’s new president, John “Lites” Leenhouts. “When I got here I asked how prepared they were for the storm,” he said in the […]
High grades, high flight for student
How do you manage a 4.4 GPA on a 4.0 scale? “You take lots of Advanced Placement and Honors classes,” said Joshua Gutierrez, a 17-year-old honor student at Central Florida Aviation Academy, which is on the SUN ’n FUN campus. Gutierrez has the highest GPA in his school and as a reward he earned a […]
Sun ‘n Fun kicks off tomorrow
The 38th annual Sun ’n Fun Fly-In kicks off Tuesday, March 27, at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL) in Florida. A full day of activities is planned, from forums to the airshow to the evening program featuring the Parris Island Marine Band, who are playing as part of the fly-in’s celebration of 100 years of […]