Thu, Mar 17, 2005
Troubled Fly-In Alienates Sport Racers
The not-so-fun-loving folks at the
Sun 'n Fun Fly-In have cancelled one of sport aviation's longest
running performance races. Sponsored many years ago by US Aviator
magazine, and more recently by other parties, the races were some
of Sport Aviation's purest go-fast races... simple 60/100 mile,
go-as-fast-as-you-can/dare races over a triangular course that
started and ended at Lakeland, Florida. [They were always a blast
and the times that I raced there count as some of the most
enjoyable things I have ever done at Lakeland (and mind you I have
raced some really weird birds there... flying one year in a Sukhoi
Su-26 and another in a DC-3)--Jim Campbell, ANN E-I-C].
An official statement notes that, "We have just been notified by
officials at the Sun-n-Fun Fly-In that from the recommendation of
their insurance representatives and air operations director, they
have cancelled the Sun 60 and Sun 100 Air Races for 2005. Their
plan is to review safety concerns and race operations and possibly
re-institute the races in 2006."
ANN is pleased to note that Sun 'n Fun is suddenly concerned
about safety... over the past few years, Sun 'n Fun's refusal to
deal with published safety concerns, that ANN and several other
entities have brought up, have been causal in a number of tragic
accidents, fatalities, and the resulting lawsuits. The lightplane
area still has a number of hazards (though not as many as when we
first put out a safety warning just days before a fatal accident
claimed a pilot's life), pedestrians are still moved in too-close
proximity to moving props and airplanes (resulting in two fairly
recent pedestrian/airplane collisions that injured a volunteer and
a child), and an arrival/departure profile that has resulted in a
number of inflight and runway collisions... and fatal accidents.
Sun 'n Fun continues to have one of the most dismal safety records
in the fly-in biz while pilot complaints about the hazards
(much less the Fly-In's "bad" attitude) are keeping flyers away in
ever-increasing numbers. However; ANN is pleased to note
that their insurance company has given them a reason to start
thinking about safety.
Mind you, the Sun 60/100 races have (historically) been fairly
safe events, and are usually populated by careful and reasonably
proficient pilots... who only gain more expertise and insight into
the aviation biz every time they match wits and skills with their
fellow aviators. It's a shame that this race has apparently become
another casualty of Sun 'n Fun's dismal safety record. We'll keep
you informed if the situation changes...
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