This past week, Lakeland, FL served as home once again for the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In Aerospace Expo. People from all around the country converged at Lakeland-Linder International Airport to celebrate all-things aviation.
Sun ‘n Fun is a nearly week-long aviation expo that happens in Lakeland, Florida. Everyone from kids to experienced pilots can come to see the airshow and get up-close aircraft of all sorts – from vintage warbirds to modern marvels. There are always aircraft taking off and landing, whether ultralights and autogyros or the occasional Amazon plane making its normal use of the airport.
The days are filled with events, from scheduled flights to panels, workshops, and even career fairs. While the average day-visitor may be focused on the airshow itself, if you opt to stay at the campground, or fly in for the whole week, these additional add-ons really have their value.
As a simple day-visitor, however, I was focused on the airshow itself. All the photos below are from myself and my coworker Jared Locke.
Sun ‘n Fun air show gallery
As usual, the show kicks off with the Socom Para-Commandos parachuting in with the American flag. They took off in the Blue Angels “Fat Albert” C-130J Super Hercules.
Red Bull, Beechcraft, and more
The show continued with a plethora of prop-driven aircraft. Piper Cubs, Bananzas, and Extra 300LX’s all performed in ways you’d rarely see an aircraft fly. A particular highlight of the prop planes was Kyle Franklin’s flight in a Piper Cub. Something you’d never want to see in reality, the “drunken pilot” performance saw steeply climb off the runway, only to dive back down, performing erratic maneuvers close to the ground.
F-35B
Moving on the prop-driven aircraft, the F-35B brought the volume up. It’s very similar to the F-35A we saw fly after it – but the Marine Corps variant. Its stand-out feature is its short take, vertical landing capability. In addition to its extremely high-speed flights, the aircraft came to a stop, hovering over the runway, spun on the spot, and continued onward.
F-35A
The F-35A flew twice on Saturday, once during the afternoon show, and then once again for a sunset show.
P-51
An iconic feature of most airshows, the P-51 flew in the evening show alongside the F-35A, and the day show it flew alongside other warbirds.
Blue Angels
A headliner for the event, the Blue Angels and their F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft flew across the sky in the afternoon shows. Flying in close formation, performing quick breaks and high-speed passes, they drew the attention of the whole crown.
Before the Super Hornets could go up, though, the group’s C-130 cargo support plane “Fat Albert” took flight in a series of passes.
MiG-23
Between the two Saturday shows, visitors were treated to a slightly unexpected surprise. The third-generation Soviet aircraft took flight and performed a few high-speed passes, showing off the variable geometry wings of the aircraft and then the brake parachute during landing.
Aeroshell
During the evening performances, the in addition to some of the previously covered aircraft and a group a parameters, the Aeroshell Aerobatic team performed. With the illuminated smoke trails in the setting sun, it let to a rather beautiful view.
Manfred Radius
Once the sun had truly set, Manfred Radius and his sailplane lit up the sky once again, with an elegant and quiet flight timed to music.
Pyro-Musical
Quite the opposite of the performance before it – though no less beautiful – the nighttime show closed out with a combination of ground base fireworks, sparklers and fireworks launching from planes, and large fireballs. The finale closed out the night after a long week of air show performances.
Truly a sight to behold, these photos can’t replicate the sound atmosphere of being there. I received several notifications on my Apple Watch warning me of loud noise, so don’t be afraid to bring ear protection for your kids or yourself, but Sun ‘n Fun always offers a show to remember.
You can see more of my photos, including nature, rocket launches, and airshows, at derekwisephoto.com.
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