Set-Up Day At Lakeland 2006
by ANN Associate Editor Rob Finfrock
With clear skies, relatively light winds and bright sunshine
beating down on the Florida swampscape, all of the ingredients were
present for a fantastic set-up day for the first major airshow of
2006: Sun 'N Fun, in Lakeland, FL.
Driving out from ANN headquarters in adjacent Winter Haven,
Hognose and I were treated to the sight of a skywriter working his
way across the blue canvas of a beautiful spring day in Central
Florida. "Welcome Sun N Fun Vols" the message read, though the
first portion of which was distorted by upper-level winds.
Those winds were also present on the ground, and as they wafted
past the exhibitor booths and aircraft displays those winds
provided a welcome bit of relief from the Florida sun. Temperatures
were in the low 80s, and even the humidity was bearable. This was
looking to be a be a great day.
For the most part, it was. Several cool aircraft were already on
display, including a Westland Lysander (above), parked near the
gate. Hognose informed me this "Army Cooperation Aircraft" was used
by special duties squadrons flying agents to clandestine landing
strips in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II... the "black
helicopter" of its day.
In the exhibitor area, Jim Kimball Enterprises has its beautiful
Pitts Python (above) -- a superfast, superweight single-seat
variant of the company's Pitts Model 12 -- displayed at their
booth.
After picking up our press credentials, next we headed out to
the aircraft parking areas. While there was already a fair turnout
in the classic aircraft camping area (including a beautiful
tailwheel Cessna 150 that, I just realized, I neglected to get a
picture of), things appeared less rosy so far in the ultralight
parking area. A sizeable amount of space has been given to these
aircraft -- leaving several wide-open gaps that seemed
conspicuous.
Granted, this was mid-afternoon, on the day before the show
opens... but whether that space (above and below) will be
filled up later in the week remains to be seen. In the interim,
those vendors present -- mostly, established builders such as Kolb,
M-Squared, and Air Creation -- will have plenty of room to stretch
their legs.
Next came the warbirds. A handful of WWII fighters were already
parked on the ramp, and occasionally a few more in formation blazed
across the sky few more were in the sky. A large contingent of L-19
Birddogs was also on display -- an affordable way to enter the
prestigious warbird realm.
The largest warbirds on display so far appeared to be four DC-3s
parked along the flight line, and a Grumman Albatross (below)
taxied in to park right as we arrived.
Will the coming days bring even more aircraft to the warbird
flight line? We've only scraped the surface so far in what exciting
aircraft and surprises this year's show may hold... and ANN will be
there to bring you coverage from Lakeland 2006.