50 years of Sun N Fun
By Jacob Herb
This year, the Sun N Fun Aerospace Expo celebrated its 50th anniversary with its annual fly-in event at KLAL (Lakeland Linder International Airport) in beautiful Lakeland, Florida. The event started as a weekend fly-in back in 1974 and has now evolved into a six-day fly-in which is second largest in the nation behind EAA’s AirVenture Expo in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. This year, the event played host to several military demonstration teams and static displays, several top tier civilian acts, numerous warbirds and hundreds of general aviation aircraft. This year also saw a record number of vendors showcasing the latest and greatest technology in the commercial and general aviation sectors.
The focus for this year's trip was the promised record number of warbird participants. For the daily shows on Tuesday and Wednesday, I saw upwards of forty plus warbirds spanning from the golden age of aviation through the Two World Wars and into the jet age. Everything from a replica Fokker D.VII to a Mikoyan MiG-29 was present on the warbird ramp and surrounding areas. Numerous trainers across both World Wars were the main contingent of warbirds with several T-6 Texans, T-28 Trojans, T-34 Mentors and Nanchang CJ-6's in attendance. In the pursuit/fighter department, nine P-51 Mustangs made the journey to KLAL along with a P-40 Warhawk, F2M Wildcat and an F4U Corsair. Bombers made a small splash with a TBM-3E Avenger, an SBD Dauntless and the beautiful B-25 Mitchell “Panchito”. In the transport aircraft category, a couple of Twin Beeches, one C-47 Skytrain and one DC-3, and the star of the entire show: the VC-121Constellation “Bataan”. In the jet category, the Ghost Squadron preformed their first official demonstration as a group with four L-39s, three Dornier Alpha Jets (one had maintenance issues and did not fly while I was there) and the other star of the week: the MiG-29 Fulcrum. Other warbirds arrived later in the week after my departure from the event.
A quick spotlight on the military side of the show. The main military demonstration this year was the USAF Thunderbirds with support from the F-35A Demo and the East Coast Rhino Team. Other acts were one Ohio ANG F-16 and a KC-135R from MacDill AFB for a NORAD demonstration. Military statics included an assortment of US Army assets, A-10's from Moody AFB, C-17 from NC ANG, an E-9 and QF-16's from Tyndall AFB, C-130 from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, EA-18 Growlers from NAS Whidbey Island. Several other aircraft arrived later in the week for static display.
Sun N Fun 2024 was a great celebration which saw many records being broken. Record number of planes, vendors, and visitors were among several that were broken. This was the fourth expo I’ve attended, and I will say it was the best lineup for both static and flying performers. I’m glad Sun N Fun is growing into a prominent airshow and fly-in that can be comparable to AirVenture Oshkosh hosted by EAA. I look forward to returning for my fifth expo in 2025!
