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Aaron Ludwig looks forward to Sun N Fun each year. He can't wait until Aunt Kristin and Uncle Mike get started on their airplane, so he can help them build it (we're very much looking forward to having his help, too!)
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Paul, Sherry and Ethan Goetsch enjoy some time together after Paul's forum.
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Charlotte Johnson is a real cutie... a very happy baby almost all the time! Someday maybe she'll help Ethan and Aaron build a plane (maybe with a little help from the grown-ups.)
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Barrett demonstrates the Skybolt's climb rate after a fast pass.
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This was pretty cool... a Pitts S2, the Skybolt, and a Pitts S-1-11 were parked side by side near the acro tent. The difference in size between the S2 and the bigger Skybolt was readily apparent.
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A highly polished Twin Beech comes in for a smooth landing.
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This Beech C-45 was on static display near the forums area.
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It's not a biplane, but the Cirrus VK-30 is still one of the most beautiful homebuilts ever designed. (Making VK-30 t-shirts for the then-tiny Cirrus Aircraft Corp. was your webmaster's first aviation-related "job", way back in 1989 or so...) This one was on display near the museum.
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In WW2, British aircraft observers were taught that "there are fighters, there are targets, and there are Lysanders." This unmistakable plane is now very rare, but the Florida Air Museum has one!
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Any scale airplane modeler worth his or her salt would break into a cold sweat at the sight of a real live Lysander, which has numerous unusual and interesting features! This plane proves the adage that "utility has a beauty all it's own."
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More unusual details. One thing that stands out about the Lysander is it's size... it's a lot larger than most photos make it appear.
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"Greenhouse" is the only appropriate word for the canopy area. These planes were often painted black and dropped into tiny fields in Nazi-occupied France during the dead of night to pick up and drop off Allied spies.
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The Eclipse Jet garnered much attention when it flew in. One firm just placed a firm order for 239 of these... it seems quite likely that the much-hyped "personal jet revolution" could actually happen.
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The M14-powered Radial Rocket sounded great during the fly-by session. With the right paint scheme, you could probably fool a lot of people into thinking it's a Bearcat.
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Randy Harris comes out of a loop in the Bearfeat Skybolt.
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Another non-aircraft display at Sun N Fun. This ducted fan powered car is unique to say the least.
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Like the daytime show, the Saturday night airshow begins with parachuters carrying Old Glory.
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The Aeroshell Team puts on a spectacular nighttime performance with their T-6s. In fact, they orbited the area for about 10-15 minutes after takeoff to ensure that it was dark enough to get the full effect of the show.
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Aeroshell's twilight performance is always enjoyable and beautiful, and it's set to patriotic music.
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The Aeroshell Team prepares to land.
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Most of the night airshow planes have sparklers on the wingtips and other pyros and lights in various places.
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A time exposure showing the various pyro during a performance.
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Yes, it was REALLY cold. The wind was blowing about 15-20mph directly across the runway, and the temperatures were in the mid 50s. Only the die-hard airshow fans (and crazy people) actually stuck it out through the whole show. Lauren and Kristin do their best to avoid hypothermia.
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Rob and Pat Moler (owners of the blue plane in our display tent) try to hide from the biting wind during the show.
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Longtime SNF favorite Steve Oliver flies the Pepsi Sky Dancer Super Chipmunk in front of the moon and stars.
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We wonder just how many UFO reports the Lakeland PD gets each year during the night airshow?
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Better than the 4th of July...
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The end of the show had a good-sized fireworks display, with a large sign reading "THANK YOU VETS" and concluding with the infamous "Wall of Fire".
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The jet truck was awesome... a pickup with a turbojet engine mounted on it, complete with afterburner and lots of smoke. You really have to see it to appreciate the spectacle of it all.
LARGE FILE WARNING: 7.1 MB movie file (Quicktime .MOV format) - not recommended on dial-up Internet connections.
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The jet truck makes a spectacular, fireworks-enhanced run down the runway, reaching well over 300 mph.
LARGE FILE WARNING: 3.7 MB movie file (Quicktime .MOV format) - not recommended on dial-up Internet connections.
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The Aeroshell team uses spotlights near the tail to give the illusion of a flame trail.
LARGE FILE WARNING: 8.2 MB movie file (Quicktime .MOV format) - not recommended on dial-up Internet connections.
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The Aeroshell team does a group barrel roll.
LARGE FILE WARNING: 12.6 MB movie file (Quicktime .MOV format) - not recommended on dial-up Internet connections.
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The Aeroshell Team has a great lead-in to their landing approach.
LARGE FILE WARNING: 12.1 MB movie file (Quicktime .MOV format) - not recommended on dial-up Internet connections.
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Manfred Radius never fails to captivate the crowd with his elegant acro routine in his Salto sailplane, which is set to classical music. His performance is always a favorite part of the show.
LARGE FILE WARNING: 22.9 MB movie file (Quicktime .MOV format) - not recommended on dial-up Internet connections.
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