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.

FMI: ANN's Coverage Of Lakeland 2006