Sun 'n Fun 2010 Trip: 02/16/09

Changes: Sun 'n Fun Registration section revised.

What’s Sun ‘n Fun?

Starting back in 1975, GA and warbird pilots began gathering at Lakeland Florida’s Linder Regional Airport for what has since become the world’s second largest fly-in, surpassed now only by Oshkosh. See the Sun 'n Fun HOME PAGE.

What’s there to do?

Daily major airshows. Acres and acres of warbirds on the flight line. Interesting aviation forums. Vendor exhibits. General camaraderie. It's spring break for pilots. Full schedules of events will be posted on the Sun ‘n Fun and EAA Warbirds websites later.

What are the accommodations and so on?

Not counting those just there for the day or who live nearby, most Sun ‘n Fun attendees will be camping out, either on the flight line or in designated campgrounds -- plus, of course. the RV’s. Such hotels as are to be found in Lakeland were long ago booked solid.

While the GA crowd can pitch their tents under the wing, Sun ‘n Fun rules require the warbirds area be kept tidy, so we will be pitching our tent not alongside our T-41C Mescalero but instead close nearby.

I’ll be supplying my fairly large REI dome tent, you’ll bring a sleeping bag of any temperature rating (we are talking about Florida) and, I recommend from experience, a small pillow.

Not too far away you’ll find real toilet facilities (not porta-johns), showers, a variety of eateries, a general store, even a laundromat and internet cafe. It’s like a small rustic village in the woods.

What’s the trip plan?

TUESDAY APRIL 21: We should be wheels up by 06:00 (sunrise is 06:22), VFR or IFR as the case may be, with the probably unrealistic goal of arriving before Linder Regional shuts down arrivals at 15:00 for the afte

rnoon airshow. Bring a sandwich and snacks so we can gas and go en route. Lakeland is 715 nm GPS direct. One possible routing, avoiding overwater, entails stops in Sanford NC and Hinesville GA, with a maximum leg distance of 253 nm.

After tie-down and campsite setup, we’ll attend to EAA Warbirds registration (more on this later), then dinner and a beer, not necessarily in that order. Note that, like Oshkosh, Sun ‘n Fun has, shall we say, a puritan streak, but at least here you can get a beer on-site, albeit after 17:00.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 22: Yours truly intends to fly the T-41C in the daily airshow. Not as exciting as it sounds, it will probably involve flying a racetrack pattern in-trail at 1000 ft while more interesting things are happening up above.

THURSDAY APRIL 23: We’ll depart mid-morning for Leeward Air Ranch, 66 nm north of Lakeland, for the invitation-only EAA Warbirds fly-in and BBQ. Then back to Lakeland in time for the afternoon airshow.

FRIDAY APRIL 24: This would be a good day to hop the $3 shuttle bus over to nearby Polk City to visit both Fantasy of Flight and the Seaplane Pilots Association splash-in on adjacent Lake Agnes. Today’s airshow will be somewhat unusual, a nighttime airshow, beginning at dusk. Gives new meaning to the concept of night currency requirements.

SATURDAY APRIL 25: Departing at a civilized hour, the plan is to take the scenic route, heading for the Atlantic coast at Daytona and thence right up the beach. Charleston SC would make a nice stopover point, a chance to briefly see an historic city and have dinner for a change at a place that uses tablecloths. Overnight accommodations would be a choice between a hotel or the pilot snooze room at the FBO.

SUNDAY APRIL 26: Continue up the coast via the NC Outer Banks. Return to Tipton by mid afternoon.

Sun ‘n Fun Registration

Flight line access for the duration costs $150.00 for the public, $95.00 for EAA members. When you get out of the airplane, you’re already on the flight line without paying anything, right? True, but assuming you want to eat, go to a forum, see the exhibits, even use a real bathroom, you’ll have to leave the flight line and then you won’t be able to get back again without a wrist band.

EAA Warbirds gives arriving member pilots (me) two wristbands per engine, so I get one for myself and one to bestow. This means that if I have one person with, he/she gets in for free. If I have two people with, one joins EAA Warbirds for $55 and pays $95.00 at the gate, and the person who gets the free wristband reimburses the other person $75. Make sense? Now if I have three people with, two join EAA Warbirds for $55 and pay $95 at the gate, and the person who gets the free wristband reimburses each person $50. Not too complicated.

Who gets to fly?

If you’re checked out and current in the T-41C, you’ll get some left seat time on this trip. Additionally, nav/com and other tasks will be shared.

And just what will all this cost?

We’ll be evenly splitting the bill, and how this works out depends mainly of course on how many go and what the Hobbs

meter says, also the amount of fuel purchased afield and how this is reimbursed. For planning purposes assume 22 hrs Hobbs time at the current 86.00/hr, 160 gal avgas is purchased enroute at an average cost of 4.50/gal, and that the club reimburses at its current discounted FME pump price of 3.70/gal. Referring to the spreadsheet, you see a net due FMFA of 910.00, after applying a 30 per cent discount coupon I happen to have. So the net trip cost is actually 1630.00, which we split 2, 3 or 4 ways as the case may be, payable to me.

Quite obviously, this is just an estimate, as anyone who has ever tried to forecast cross-country time and expense knows all too well. That takes care of the flight expense. bill. To this must be added, besides your personal incidentals, other shared costs including ramp fees (unlikely), shared rental cars (if any), and navigation charts and approach plates purchased for this trip, which will be divvied up as souvenirs.

Important Caveats

(1) It’s altogether possible our return by April 26 could well be delayed by weather or maintenance issues. This is, after all, a 41-year-old airplane, albeit currently well-maintained. If a delay is encountered and you must absolutely, positively be back at work on April 27, you’ll have to return commercially. But it’s understood you agree to still pay your full share of the trip cost.

(2) Once you commit to go, if you have to cancel less than 30 days before departure time, you agree to pay 50 per cent of your full share of the trip cost, unless a suitable substitute is found.

(3) Hopefully all decisions, both large and small, regarding the trip will be via consensus, but in the absence of such consensus I will be primus inter pares, although I make no claim to infallibility. That said, whoever at the time is PIC is understood to have full command for flight safety as well as concomitant club incident/accident responsibility.

Click to DOWNLOAD Sun 'n Fun trip FAQ 1.2 as a pdf file.

The question has been raised as to whether the T-41C is really a warbird. After all, it's basically a Cessna Skyhawk with a 210 hp engine, big deal.

Merriam-Webster defines warbird as (1) a military airplane; also : a crew member of a military airplane; and (2) dialect scarlet tanager, a common American tanager (Piranga olivacea) of which the adult male is scarlet with black wings and tail and the female and young are chiefly olive. The Oxford English Dictionary defines warbird as (a) = war-eagle; (b) fig., a fighting aircraft or airman. Not much help here. War-eagle, by the way, is the golden eagle, so called because the North American Indians decorate themelves with its feathers.

According to EAA Warbirds, their original intent back in 1966 limited participation to owners and operators of World War II combat aircraft only, but over the years the warbird category has been expanded to include military aircraft of any type and era, encompassing, for example, liaison and trainer aircraft. Hence the inclusion of the T-41C.